


Happiness is Overrated

by Layora88



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bodyswap, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Come Eating, Fluff and Angst, Guilty Bucky, Guilty Steve, Guilty Tony, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Bucky, Insecure Tony, Little bit of smut, Loki meddling, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Massage, Masturbation, Metal Arm Kink, Nightmares, PTSD, Pining did I mention pining?, Shaving, Talk of Feelings, Voice Kink, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:29:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23938441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Layora88/pseuds/Layora88
Summary: Bucky is recovering and well...he feels like he's missed his chance with Steve...now that he's dating Tony and has been for a while. Bucky's not really sure where he fits in anymore and then Loki gets involved because it's Loki, come on, and yeah, ensue body swap story no one asked for.Reposted because it is now complete!
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 15
Kudos: 318
Collections: Avengers Collection, Dreamwind's Favorite MCU/Marvel Fics, God Bless America





	Happiness is Overrated

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Omega_Nicole for the nudge to finish this story. It turned out to be a bit of a beast. xD Hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> I'll be taking down the other one that's labelled unfinished within a week of this going up. <3
> 
> Come chat with me on Discord! starbucksjunkie#9171
> 
> Don't have Discord? Come talk to me on Tumblr! [ko-fiandfanfiction](www.tumblr.com/blog/layora88)

“ _Steve-_ “ Bucky choked, his breathing coming in harsh pants as he stumbled his way across the hall to his best friend’s bedroom.

He barely managed a knock before he was slipping into the darkened room. Steve sat up, startled awake by the sound of his friend. He didn’t even have a chance to flick on his bedside lamp before the brunet was practically throwing himself into the blond’s arms. “Hey- _hey_ -you’re okay, Buck. Shhh,” Steve murmured, wrapping his arms around his friend and cradling him tightly to his chest.

Bucky let out a terrible sob and Steve’s arms tightened reflexively around him. “Buck, you’re okay. I’m here, I’ve got you. You’re alright, _shhh_ ,” He murmured, pressing his lips to the man’s temple as he hugged him that much closer, having started rocking him gently in any attempt to comfort.

Bucky whimpered softly and screwed his eyes shut as he clutched at the blond, trying to keep the tears at bay as best he could while nearly shaking out of his skin in the process. Steve was still murmuring soft reassurances against his temple when the bed beside him shifted slightly.

Bucky tensed up instantly, the whimpering ceasing as he realized they weren’t alone. Tony was sitting up beside Steve, the soft blue glow of his Arc Reactor illuminating his worried features in the darkened room. He wasn’t wearing a shirt…and they were in Steve’s bed- _together-_ in the middle of the night. _Steve_ wasn’t wearing a shirt either.

Bucky swallowed hard, pulling himself free of his friend hastily, his movements tense and jerky. “I-I’m so sorry, Steve. I didn’t realize-“

Steve’s face crumpled at his sudden withdrawal and Bucky couldn’t help wincing at the almost grief stricken expression he saw there. “ _Hey_ , no, Buck. It’s okay,” He stressed. “Come here. Was it a nightmare?” Steve asked worriedly, reaching out to try and coax him back into his arms.

Bucky shook his head, trying to take a few steps back from the bed to give them some space. “ _I’m sorry-_ “ He breathed, casting a worried look towards Tony, feeling like such an intruder in their private moment.

Tony’s lips parted as if to speak, brow furrowed and _Christ_ , but what was that _look?_ Bucky couldn’t bring himself to hear whatever he was about to say. He was soon stumbling out of the bedroom on shaky legs, feeling even more worse off than when he had gone there in the first place. But there was nothing for it.

The look on Tony’s face…Bucky wasn’t sure what that had been exactly. He looked _guilty_ and that- _that_ was just something he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Steve was immediately following his friend, however, Tony’s frantic hand gestures insisting that he go after him.

“ _Bucky,_ hey, _wait_ -“ Steve tried, slipping out of his own bedroom and across the hall into Bucky’s.

Bucky turned around, stopping him from coming too far into his room and pressed his flesh and blood hand to the blond’s chest to stop him, ignoring the warmth of the man’s skin, the steady rise and fall of his chest, the beating of his heart beneath. Steve instantly stilled at his touch and met his friend’s darkened gaze. “I’m fine, Steve. I-I’m sorry I woke you. I’m sorry I interrupted you and Tony,” He apologized.

Steve’s brows creased as he watched his friend and he quickly shook his head. “ _No_ , Buck. It’s okay, really. Here, can we sit down?”

Bucky shook his head adamantly. “I-I’m alright, Stevie. I’m sorry. You should go back to Tony,” He tried to insist.

Steve frowned, already shaking his head. “Bucky, he doesn’t need me right now. _You_ do.”

Bucky shifted, withdrawing his hand from his friend’s chest. He couldn’t help notice that Steve wore nothing more than a pair of sleep pants that were hanging _really low_ on his hips and he desperately tried not to stare. He really didn’t need this right now. He swallowed hard and tried to avert his gaze from his best friend and instead focused on a spot on the wall to the left of his shoulder. “I’m okay, I’m sorry I worried you. I had a nightmare but I’m fine. I’ll just go for a walk and I’m sure I’ll feel better. Please, go back to Tony,” Bucky very nearly pleaded.

Steve’s frown deepened, but he hesitated a beat, looking over his friend carefully. “Buck, come on. You’re not fine. You don’t have to lie-“

“ _Steve-_ “ Bucky said sternly. “I am _fine_. I’m sorry I woke you up for nothin’ _okay?_ _Please,_ just go back to Tony,” Bucky pleaded and it was a plea this time.

Steve swallowed hard and fixed him with a very concerned stare, but Bucky was done arguing. He grabbed a sweater from his dresser and slipped it on over his t-shirt hastily. “I’m gonna’ go for a walk, clear my head,” He said, readjusting his sweater before slipping past the blond and out into the hallway.

He was startled to find Tony standing in the doorway of Steve’s bedroom, now clad in a t-shirt and sleep pants of his own. Bucky took a deep breath and averted his gaze from the genius as he tried to escape their scrutiny. He should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Bucky, you don’t have to go. I can give you both some privacy. I know what nightmares can be like, you don’t have to suffer on your own,” Tony tried worriedly, following him down the hall with Steve in tow.

But Bucky just shook his head, making his way towards the door hurriedly. He needed to get out of there right now. “Please _just…_ go back to bed. I’m sorry you guys, I’ll see you later. I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” He insisted and left the two standing in the living room, not bothering to cast a cursory glance over his shoulder at the pair.

If he had, he would have seen the matching looks of despair and worry plastered across their faces.

.

Bucky roamed the halls by himself until the wee hours of early morning. He still couldn't bring himself to return to their apartment even after he was sure Steve would have been up and gone for his morning run. He didn’t want to chance running into either of them before he was ready. Not that he thought he’d ever necessarily be ready.

He had moved into the Tower under Steve and Tony’s insistence over four months ago and while it hadn't been easy in the least, he was finally starting to feel comfortable there, in large thanks to Tony, Steve and even the rest of the Team. Everyone looked out for him and while he still clung to Steve like a bad smell most days, he was slowly starting to feel more and more like his old self with some very obvious differences, mind.

And then he’d found out shortly after arriving that Tony and Steve had been dating for almost six months prior to finding out that Bucky was alive and…that threw him back a few steps. That right there, that was a crushing blow he had not been prepared for in the slightest, but surprisingly he had handled it pretty well. At least, he thought he had.

For a time, he had been nothing but supportive of their relationship from the moment he found out, but inwardly he was fighting with the pain it had brought him. He and Steve were together, once upon a time. But that time had long since passed and even though he was still Bucky…he sort of wasn’t anymore. He was different now, _Steve_ was different now. Didn’t change the fact that he was still helplessly in love with his best friend, though.

But the real kicker? Was that he _liked_ Tony. Like, _really_ liked Tony. The man was a lot of things; a genius, billionaire, not so much a playboy anymore, philanthropist as well. Not to mention a whole ton of other amazing things. He was kind, generous, had a huge heart and was in love with Bucky’s best friend.

Tony had insisted upon meeting him that Bucky was welcome in their home, in their lives and when Bucky had tried to make Tony understand all of the terrible things he had done, the genius had simply given him a tiny smile and told him that it was never his choice to do those things. He didn’t need to punish himself for things entirely out of his control.

Bucky couldn’t accept that, not yet. Not even now, really. And when he had unceremoniously confessed to killing Tony’s parents right there in the damned hallway, backpack of his few meagre possessions slung over his good shoulder, Tony’s face had gone tight for the barest of nano-seconds and then he calmly blew out a breath and told him he knew that the Winter Soldier was the one responsible for the deaths of his parents and in the same vein, told him that there really was nothing to forgive him for because it wasn’t him. How could Tony forgive someone for something they simply didn’t do? It had been Hydra, pure and simple. According to Tony.

Bucky had been floored, even Steve had looked taken aback by the man’s words, but Bucky had told himself that he would do anything and everything from that moment onwards to help them be happy, to _stay_ happy, t _ogether_ …forever. Even if it meant his heart would remain broken, beaten and battered beyond even his own recognition. He could be Steve’s best friend and Ton’y friend. He could do that for them. Happiness was overrated anyway.

But over the months, Bucky had realized one horrible flaw in his master plan. Getting closer to Steve again was one thing when the blond kept giving him puppy-dog eyes and soft proud smiles, but getting closer to Tony was something he really hadn’t seen coming. What he hadn’t seen coming really, wasn’t the fact that he would grow closer to the genius, but the developing…uh, _feelings_ part. He was falling for him-his best friend’s guy-how downright _scuzzy_ was that? He cringed at the very thought.

Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply as he sat down on the living room couch on the communal floor. The Sun was already up behind him and the light was filtering in through the big floor to ceiling windows and bathing the furnishings in the warmth of its morning light. He scrubbed his flesh and blood hand over his face and let out an exasperated huff. This really needed to stop. He needed to truly get a handle on this or so help him-

He was honestly so _happy_ that Steve had found someone to be with and sure he had been incredibly surprised by that particular conversation. Finding out your once lover and best friend was dating a new man. Of course it was a bit of a shock and it fuckin’ hurt like hell, Bucky couldn’t deny it. But he consoled himself with the knowledge that if things ever went badly between the pair, he might be able to swoop in and be there for his friend and maybe, just maybe he’d have a chance to be with him the way he wanted to be once more.

But even thinking about that made him feel incredibly guilty. He didn’t _want_ them to break up. They were too good together. They balanced each other out and just sort of worked, despite their hot-headed personalities. But of course Bucky was still licking his wounds and dealing with the aftermath of everything he had been through, Steve and Tony too, in their own ways. He imagined finding out that your old boyfriend whom you thought was dead was probably pretty shocking. Also finding out that your dad didn’t drink and drive and kill himself and his wife had to be a tough pill to swallow to. So he got it, they were all living in their own aftermath of sorts.

Being superheroes on top of dealing with that shit wasn’t an easy thing to have to deal with either, no matter what your superpower was. And though Bucky wouldn’t call himself a superhero even in the lightest use of the term, he still participated on missions and the like when his particular skill set was called for. Still, he never entirely felt like he could ever be called a hero, no matter what anyone said. But really, that was a whole other can of worms to be explored at a later time. A _much_ later time.

Just as he was starting to really become lost in his thoughts of how to handle his newest fuck up with Steve and Tony, the aforementioned genius decided to make an appearance. Tony strode through the living room, coming up short when he caught sight of Bucky hunched in on himself on the couch, head in his hands and pretty well tugging at the longer strands of his darker locks. “Bucky?” He asked softly, not wanting to spook him but needing to make sure he was all right.

Bucky immediately righted himself, completely caught off guard by the man. He hadn’t even heard him come in and that-that was never a good sign. “Hey,” He replied, quickly getting up from his spot.

Tony gave him a nervous smile, gaze sweeping over him, assessing. “Did you try and go back to sleep at all?”

Bucky grimaced slightly and shook his head, not bothering to try and lie. “Nah, decided to just wander for a bit. I think I'm gonna go make breakfast though. Can I make you something? Pancakes? Coffee?” He tried to distract.

Distracting Tony with the promise of coffee hadn’t failed him yet.

Tony eyed him warily for a moment before nodding hesitantly. “Uh…sure, can never say no to coffee. Why don't I come give you a hand?”

Bucky nodded sharply and started towards the kitchen ignoring the way he could feel Tony’s gaze tracking along his frame. Soon the two were busy making chocolate chip pancakes and had a pot of coffee put on and it didn't take long for the smells of breakfast to draw out other Team members. The kitchen was promptly full of grumpy Avengers all in the search for coffee and sustenance.

Tony and Bucky had barely said two words to each other since their initial conversation in the living room and the rest of the Team seemed to notice that Bucky was a little off this morning as well. So they let him be. It happened often enough that no one wished to provoke the man. If he wanted to talk, he would. He never did though.

Just as Bucky was clearing away some of the breakfast dishes, Steve returned from his morning run and was looking a touch more flushed than normal, not that Bucky was _staring_ or anything. The blond quickly grabbed Thor who was nibbling on a few stray crumbs of what appeared to be the remains of his Pop-Tart by the elbow and asked if he could have a word with him in the living room. The Team thought it a little strange, but no one was really awake enough to figure out what was up just yet.

So of course then Thor started yelling, his booming voice reverberating off the walls of the living room and then there was the all too familiar sound of Loki’s laughter to follow. Immediately everyone was up and on their guard, rushing out into the living room to see what could possibly be going on.

And there was Loki standing with his back to the windows and grinning deviously at both Steve and Thor and now the rest of the group as they filtered. Tony and Bucky were the first and foremost to step into the fray but Thor hastily stepped in front of them. “Don't get involved!” Steve warned them both from behind them and Thor nodded gravely, turning his attention back to his brother.

“Brother, you need to stop this foolishness. Whatever you have come here to do, enough. Just leave us, please. You've done enough,” Thor insisted, worried gaze flickering to Steve for a half second.

Loki chuckled darkly and shook his head. “Oh, but I haven't done anything yet. Steve and I had a bit of a chat and I’d hardly call that productive. _No,_ I’m really looking forward to having a chat with those two,” Loki told them, eyeing both Bucky and Tony with a hint of a smirk gracing his lips.

“What do you want with us?” Tony blurted, obviously not having the slightest clue.

You see, this wasn’t the first time Loki had showed up at the Tower uninvited and it surely wouldn’t be the last. But as of late, his only mission had seemed to revolve around stirring shit up and causing a bit of a raucous for the Team. Hardly anything to really worry over, but his early morning visit didn’t bode well for the remainder of their day.

Bucky was slowly coaxing Tony to the side in hopes of Steve coming to stand in front of him and if not, Bucky wouldn’t have a problem standing in his path, but Loki seemed to realize what he was doing and grinned before he was brandishing a sceptre in their direction. There was only a split second to react and Bucky did the only thing he could think of.

He threw himself in front of whatever spell Loki was tossing their way. Tony shouted, Steve shouted, the whole Team was in an uproar when the spell hit. The blinding green light enveloping both Bucky and Tony; _so much for blocking the spell_. Loki was yelling something, cackling gleefully and unfortunately he couldn’t quite make it out, but then it was over.

Bucky and Tony fell, the soldier falling nearly on top of the genius, but thanks to Steve’s reflexes, he managed to catch Bucky before he crushed him. Natasha was hauling Tony towards her as she swooped in to catch him as well. Thor’s booming voice was resonating throughout the Tower as he called after his brother. But of course, Loki was already gone.

Bucky could vaguely hear people yelling around him, but he felt so tired all of a suddenand collapsed back into warm arms. He wasn’t sure how long he was out when he started to feel hands on him, rubbing at his arms soothingly. He groaned softly. “What-“ He cleared his throat and tried again, the sound of his voice coming out all wrong. “What’s going on? Why do I sound different?” He muttered, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it; it felt like it was full of cotton candy.

“Tony- _Tony_ , are you okay?” It was Steve’s voice right next to his ear.

He frowned slightly and tried to shake his head, reaching up to rub at his eyes. “Yeah, I'm okay, Steve. Is Tony okay?”

Steve’s face finally came into view and he looked so worried and Bucky really did try to get his vision to settle, not enjoying the hazy quality whatsoever. “Tony, what's wrong? Are you okay?”

Bucky frowned and tried to stand but Steve’s strong hands pinned him in place…far too easily. “Stevie, I'm fine. Let me up, punk.”

Steve’s eyes widened nearly comically so, his jaw dropping open slightly in disbelief, “ _Bucky?_ ”

Bucky frowned at him, shaking his head a bit as if to clear it. “Yeah, punk. Who else would it be?” He huffed and tried to get up again and this time Steve let him, looking completely at a loss.

“ _O-kay…_ so, what the actual fuck?” Tony yelped...only it wasn’t in Tony's voice.

The genius frowned deeply and tried to clear his throat and Bucky glanced over towards the voice, his eyebrows rising up into his hairline incredibly fast. “Why are there two of me?” Bucky whispered hoarsely when he looked over to see… _himself,_ staring back at him.

“Two of _you?!_ Why are there two of _me?!_ ” His copy shouted.

Bucky’s brows furrowed deeply but before he could open his mouth, Thor was clearing his throat. “Oh dear, it looks like my brother has played a bit of a trick on you both. There are not two of you. If you’ll both stay calm and just to inform you, this is not permanent. Take a look down at yourselves, I think you’ll find what the problem is,” Thor told them sheepishly.

Bucky and Tony quickly looked down at themselves, eyes wide and of course they started to panic. Who _wouldn’t_ panic in a situation like this? Bucky outstretched his hands in front of him, both made of flesh and blood and he inhaled sharply, close to hyperventilating when he took in the sight of his frame. “Oh my God,” He breathed, his eyes widening in obvious shock.

Tony let out a sort of undignified squeak from across from him and Bucky glanced up to see his body with his hands outstretched and eyes focused nervously on the metal arm. Bucky grimaced, “Tony?” He asked timidly.

The genius…in _his_ body looked up and met the soldier’s gaze...in _his_ body. They both shook their heads in disbelief, unable to tear their gazes away from the other. “I hate magic,” Tony breathed.

Bucky nodded slowly. _Same,_ he thought wildly. “ _Tony_ , I’m _so_ sorry. Are you okay?”

Tony nodded and waved his metal hand at him dismissively because it wasn’t like it was _Bucky’s_ fault, but then he quickly became distracted by the whirring of the metal plates and his eyes fell to it with something like wonder reflected in their grey-blue depths. “It's not permanent,” Thor reminded them. “It usually only lasts a couple of days. I’ve seen this spell before. I am so very sorry for what my brother has done,” Thor apologized.

Bucky nodded and sighed deeply, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Could be worse, a _lot_ worse,” Bucky confessed because in the grand scheme of things, how bad could this really be?

Tony nodded in agreement, still stuck on stretching and admiring the metal arm. “It's not so bad. I mean, the arm is kinda cool. Not gonna lie,” Tony huffed in amusement, a bit of a manic tilt to his grin.

Bucky looked over at him and frowned deeply, struck by the picture he made. “ _Tony,_ you should not have to be in that awful shell of a body for even a second. I am so, _so_ sorry-“

Steve let out a noise next to him and Bucky glanced over at his friend worriedly, wondering what was wrong. “Don’t you _ever_ talk about yourself like that again, Buck,” Steve ordered and it wasn’t in his Steve Rogers voice, _oh no,_ not even close.

He was full on Captain America in that moment and Bucky couldn’t help it, he averted his gaze and stared sullenly at the floor, very nearly shrinking in on himself.

Natasha helped Tony to his feet and Bucky glanced over to see the genius…in his super-soldier body looking at him with such a deep sadness in his eyes. He cringed slightly, not liking the openness of such a look seen reflected in his very own face. He tried to look away, but not before Tony had managed to meet his gaze and catch it for a fraction of a second too long.

“Okay _so,_ it’s not permanent. That’s good,” Clint chimed in, twirling a random arrow in his grasp.

Natasha glanced over at him and nodded. “Could be a lot worse, I suppose,” She sighed.

The rest of the group nodded and then Bruce cleared his throat timidly. “It might be worthwhile to maybe run a few tests. Take some blood samples and see if anything’s amiss?”

Tony shuddered at the idea of _tests_ and quickly shook his head. “You know what? I think I’m good. I feel pretty great actually,” Tony insisted, but then he was reaching up with his right hand to rub at the join where metal met flesh on his left shoulder and he winced slightly.

Everyone saw it, of course, and Steve flashed a worried glance towards Bucky, in Tony’s body. Bucky tried not to grimace and simply nodded, averting his gaze as quickly as possible. “I feel alright too. I think it’d be a waste of time. I mean, Thor said it’s not permanent and it’s _magic_ after all. How would you even test for something like that, anyway?” Bucky tried desperately.

There was a soft chorus of agreement and Tony shrugged a bit and immediately winced when a bit of a sharp pain lanced through him near the join of the metal shoulder. “ _Mother fucker_ -” He hissed, reaching up to grasp at his shoulder.

Steve was instantly standing in front of him, hands hovering nervously over Tony, but not quite touching him. “What’s the matter?”

Tony shook his head and threw a nervous glance over to Bucky who was looking at him in uncomfortable silence. But Tony wasn’t stupid. Clearly Bucky had been dealing with a fair amount of pain in his metal arm and had chosen not to tell anyone about it. The pain, the dull ache in his bones where the metal joined was no doubt something that he’d been dealing with for _ages_.

Their gazes met and it looked to Tony as if Bucky were pleading with him not to say anything. So, he didn’t. “Nothing, all good here. The arm’s just a bit heavy, I guess?” Tony lied, not convincingly enough, however.

Steve seemed to understand then and Bucky watched as the blond struggled with himself with the urge to touch and comfort Tony…in _his_ body. The _wrong_ body. But he made no move to touch the genius and Bucky didn’t really know what to make of that. It hurt, but he did what he did best and buried it deep, as deep as it could possibly go. He’d think about it later.

Bucky took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. His thoughts were starting to wander and it was only going to go downhill from there if he couldn’t get a handle on himself. He really didn’t want to spiral today. “Well, I think it’s safe to say that you’re both benched from any missions or calls for the next few days while this sorts itself out,” Steve sighed, his gaze flickering between the pair.

Tony frowned but nodded, as did Bucky and then the blond let out a really exasperated sigh as he turned to look at Bucky and then back to Tony. He was obviously feeling very unsure of himself, but really, it was understandable. How often does one suddenly find your current boyfriend in the body of your ex-boyfriend anyway? Bucky inwardly grimaced at the thought.

“You know what…I think I need more coffee if I’m gonna’ make it through the day,” Bucky muttered with a shake of his head.

Steve chuckled softly and smiled over at him so lovingly and Bucky was completely thrown by the look he hadn’t been on the receiving end in only God knows how long. But then Steve seemed to remember himself and schooled his features, his cheeks flushing slightly as he realized what he was doing. “What a Tony-like thing to say,” Steve covered, chuckling nervously and gave him a little shrug, gaze flickering back towards Tony in Bucky’s body.

Bucky couldn’t help smiling a bit at that and glancing over at the genius himself, who just so happened to be giving him a timid smile of his own. Soon they were back in the kitchen and Bucky was well on his way into his third cup of coffee when Tony stood and went to the fridge to get a glass of orange juice.

What no one had seen coming, however, was when Tony reached out to open the fridge with his metal arm and accidentally ripped the handle clean off the fridge, even going so far as to yank one of the hinges off in the process. The entire room went eerily quiet and Tony whispered, “ _Whoops._ ”

Bucky lost it. He cackled uproariously, practically doubled over in his hysterics and Tony looked over at himself… _er_ , Bucky in his body, rather incredulously. Bucky was still howling when Tony came over and tossed the door handle onto the counter in front of him and the rest of the Team laughed at the two of them.

Tony shook his head in disbelief. “Oh, _come on!_ ” Bucky laughed. “You can’t tell me I’m the only one who thought that was hilarious,” Bucky nearly wheezed.

The whole outburst seemed so uncharacteristic of him though and though it was in Tony’s body, they were still pleased that he was laughing about something. Tony snorted and shook his head while the others mumbled something along the lines of, _you’re insane_ or _really, Barnes?_ Tony smirked at him and shook his head in amusement.

“Well, I sort of want to go and fool around in the gym now. See how much I can lift,” Tony told them, looking toward Bucky to see if it was alright.

Bucky’s laughter slowly died and he smiled nervously across at the genius. “Be my guest, Tony. Just…be careful. The strength is probably going to take a bit to get used to,” Bucky warned.

Tony hummed under his breath before he smirked over at Steve, raising an eyebrow and waggling it suggestively. “Gonna’ come and fool around with me?” He teased, and the moment the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake.

Steve’s eyes were wide, his lips parted in surprise and his eyebrows were definitely up in his hair line. The rest of the Team were all trying desperately to hide their grins and Tony immediately back-pedalled. “I-I mean. To work out- _like_ , help me lift weights. That’s it, I _swear_ -” Tony quickly stuttered out.

Bucky’s cheeks were beat red by the time Steve, Tony and a few of the others had glanced his way and really, he could do nothing to hide it at this point. He just hoped that Tony’s facial hair was enough to at least hide _some_ of the damning blush.

Steve chuckled nervously and nodded. “Uh, sure Tony. I can help you. But Bucky is right, we should probably be a bit more careful. Bucky’s used to his strength, you definitely, are not.”

Tony nodded quickly. “Yeah, yeah, o’course. You don’t mind, do you Buck?” Tony asked excitedly.

Bucky shook his head, waving him off. Anything to get the two of them out of the kitchen so that he could continue to have his little mental freakout in peace…or at least, not in front of the two people that he really didn’t want to witness it.

“Alright, well, we’ll see you guys later, I guess,” Tony told them as he started out of the kitchen, Steve following close behind.

Bucky unfortunately missed the odd look Steve shot him as he exited the kitchen, but Natasha, Bruce, Thor and Clint did not fail to notice it. The minute the two could be heard getting into the elevator and the doors closed, Natasha was practically on him. Literally hopping up onto the counter beside him and grabbing his face in her delicate hands.

Bucky reeled slightly in surprise and watched as the red-head looked him over. “Seriously, Barnes? This is pretty amazing, not gonna lie.”

Bruce, Clint and Thor chuckled softly at her and Bucky sighed before pulling his face out of her grasp. She smiled at him in sympathy and shook her head, letting her hands fall to her lap as she observed him.

“So, this must be hella’ awkward for you, buddy,” Clint huffed and Bucky grimaced, glancing over at the archer.

“ _Awkward_ …yeah, we’ll go with that,” He muttered, shaking his head.

See, the Team was well aware of the fact that Bucky was in love with Steve, had been in love with him since the 30’s and although he had never explicitly told them, they sort of just figured it out on their own. He was also pretty sure Steve had never told them what Bucky and he were to each other, once upon a time. He didn’t know about whether or not Tony knew though, thought it might explain _some_ things.

What’s worse though, was the fact that they’d figured out that he was also in love with Tony, because really, it was definitely love. He wasn’t going to deny it. But there was honestly nothing he could do about it, so he kept to himself on the matter and dealt with it in his own way.

“So, you gonna’ freak out?” Natasha hedged.

Bucky shrugged and then slowly nodded. “Yep, probably the minute I’m alone and happen across a mirror. So, if you hear me screaming or flipping my shit, please come and save me from myself. The last thing I want to do is hurt Tony’s body or something equally as stupid.”

Natasha sighed and the other men seemed to sigh collectively as well. “I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the next hour let alone get through a whole day. Or worse, two or three days like this,” Bucky groaned, leaning forward and resting his forehead against the cool counter top of the kitchen island.

Natasha reached out to card her fingers through his shorter hair and he turned his head, resting his cheek against the counter to look at her as he pressed slightly into her warm hand. He tried to give her a little smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’ll be fine, Barnes,” She consoled before slipping off the counter and striding over towards the bowl of fruit by the fridge.

Bruce sighed deeply then. “Alright, well, I’ll be down in the lab if you need anything and Thor? Maybe you could come along for a bit? I wanted to ask you about the spell and see what you can tell me about it.”

Thor nodded, rising from his seat. “Of course, anything I can do to help.”

Bruce nodded hastily before the two were heading out of the kitchen together, but not before they patted the brunet on the shoulder on their way by in reassurance. Once it was just Clint, Natasha and Bucky left in the kitchen, however, all hell broke loose.

“So…you gonna take a peek?” Clint asked with a salacious eyebrow wiggle.

Bucky frowned. “What are you talkin’ about, Barton?”

Clint grinned. “You _know,_ you’ve got the body of your crush. Aren’t you just a little bit curious about his _assets?_ ”

Natasha cracked up at that and Bucky’s eyes widened. He shook his head in annoyance. “You’re an asshole, Barton. _No_ , I’m not going to do any such thing,” He insisted.

“In all fairness, you should probably at least take a shower and you’re going to have to piss eventually,” Natasha told him with a little smirk.

Bucky shook his head in disbelief, “You two are unbelievable.”

Natasha and Clint smirked at him. “Well, you should and you will,” She singsonged, coming back towards him with an orange in hand.

She leaned in real close to him and took a deep breath close to his ear, bright eyes flickering down his frame before meeting his eyes once again. “You smell like sex, after all.”

Bucky’s eyes widened, his lips parting in surprise and for the first time since the whole body swap had happened, he allowed himself to truly _feel_ his body. The first thing he noted was that his hips ached slightly, the second was that yeah, he could definitely smell Steve on him and not just his regular woodsy smell, _oh no_. He could smell _musk_ , most likely a combination of Steve and Tony in that regard.

But then he realized that there was a delicious sort of _ache_ in his ass and his cheeks flushed crimson at the very thought. “ _Oh for the love of_ -“ Bucky breathed, stumbling _very_ inelegantly to his feet and nearly knocking over his chair in his haste to flee.

Clint and Natasha just grinned knowingly at him and soon he was racing out of the kitchen and towards the safety of his apartment. As soon as he managed to lock himself in his bedroom, he lost it. He started hyperventilating and did everything in his power to keep his breathing under control. Easier said than done, of course.

He sat at the edge of his bed, hunched over, hands wound tightly in his shorter hair as he tried to ground himself. _You’re okay. You’re fine. You can handle this. It’s not a big deal. Don’t think about it. Calm down._ He told himself over and over again.

After about ten-minutes of this he managed to pull himself together enough to slip into his bathroom. As soon as he caught sight of himself in the mirror, he groaned. His eyes roamed over the body before him and he struggled to keep his breathing even and his thoughts out of the gutter.

But then he remembered _why_ he’d come into the bathroom in the first place; to shower. He huffed out an exasperated breath and scrubbed his hand over his face, grimacing when he realized he had been expecting the coolness of the metal hand instead of the warm fleshy one. He groaned even louder at that and quickly turned away from the mirror. If he was really going to shower, then he needed to not look at himself while he undressed.

Exasperated, he turned on the shower and let it run before grabbing a fresh towel and setting it on the hook by the door. Studiously avoiding the mirror and looking down at himself, he managed to divest himself of his shirt, pants and briefs and soon he was standing under the hot spray over the shower, still- _very carefully-_ avoiding looking at himself.

That didn’t last long. After he’d managed to wash his hair and face, he realized that he was going to have to touch the rest of him if he wanted to actually get properly clean. “For fuck’s sake,” He muttered, grabbing his loofa and pouring a bit of body wash on the pink puff.

He took a deep breath and tried to steel himself as he started lathering himself up. Starting with his stomach, he brushed the loofa across his skin and sent up a few prayers as he tried to keep his thoughts from wandering too badly.

It _really_ didn’t work.

Within two-minutes of lathering himself up, he gave in and looked down at the body of one Tony Stark. He inhaled sharply before he let out a soft groan. “ _Fuck_ -“ He hissed, unable to keep himself from sliding the loofa down over his crotch.

He trembled slightly and shook his head, willing himself to stop. But of course, he didn’t. _Couldn’t._ Unable to help himself, he dropped the loofa in favour of taking a hold of the genius’ quickly hardening cock. He moaned softly and gave himself a firm stroke. His knees nearly buckled and he shut his eyes tightly for a moment or three.

“You’re so fucked,” Bucky muttered to himself, unable to stop from continuing to pleasure himself.

It didn’t take long for him to bring himself off and soon he was kneeling on the floor of the shower stall, bracing his right hand against the shower wall as he stroked himself faster, harder. He came with a shout and nearly collapsed under the warm spray of the shower. His hips bucked forward and he groaned softly, his breathing laboured as he watched his release wash away.

Eventually he managed to drag himself out of the shower and dried himself off without looking at his body, er, Tony’s body. He slipped on a pair of briefs and went to his dresser to pull out a pair of now too big track pants and once half dressed, he grabbed one of his black henley’s. He shook it out and looked up at himself in the mirror hanging above the dresser and his eyes fell to the genius’ Arc Reactor. He swallowed down the sudden lump that had built up in his throat and took a step closer to the mirror.

He’d been a little more than distracted by the man’s cock in the shower than the Arc Reactor…but now?

He let his eyes roam across the expanse of muscle and took in the sight of the scarring around the metal device snugged deeply in his chest. He swallowed hard and reached up with his right hand to gently trace the metal edge of the device. He inhaled sharply as his fingertips caressed the skin where metal met flesh, goosebumps breaking out and racing like wildfire over what felt like his entire body. He was just so goddamn _sensitive_ there, and of course right at that moment, he heard Steve come into the apartment.

He quickly sucked in a breath before he pulled his t-shirt on, ignoring how it was too bug as well and headed out to see his friend. “Hey, Steve,” Bucky called. “How was your workout with Tony?” He asked as he came down the hall and into the living room.

Steve turned to meet his gaze and gave him a dazzling smile and for just a moment, Bucky let himself believe that that smile was really meant for him and not for the genius the blond was madly in love with. He inwardly shook himself and strode towards his friend and Steve’s gaze softened a little, obviously noting the clothes Bucky was wearing were too big for the genius’ body. “He had fun at least…though it was more about me making sure he didn’t break too much stuff,” He confessed.

Bucky smiled a little and couldn’t help chuckling softly, “Ah…hopefully he didn’t cause too much damage?”

Steve shrugged, “Nothing substantial. He’s actually just gone to get cleaned up and we were gonna’ grab a bite to eat. Want to join us?”

Bucky nodded a bit, not really feeling all that hungry at the moment, but he supposed he could eat something…or get more coffee. He frowned a little at the errant thought. “Uh, sure. I’ll join you…also, does Tony live on coffee? Because I seriously want another like…five cups.”

Steve laughed, “He does like his coffee. Anyway, I’m gonna’ grab a shower and then I’ll meet you downstairs?”

Bucky nodded, “Sure, see you in a bit.”

Soon enough Bucky found himself in the communal kitchen putting together a sandwich while he waited for the coffee pot to finish brewing. He wasn’t sure why exactly, but he had the overwhelming urge to break the thing if it didn’t hurry the fuck up. He shook himself of the thought and went back to making his sandwich when Tony walked into the room.

“Hey, Buck,” Tony greeted, coming over to the coffee maker just as it finished brewing.

Bucky startled a little and glanced over at himself, blushing when he realized that Tony had clearly taken a shower and was wearing some of Steve’s clothes. His hair was still wet and pulled back into a loose bun and Bucky quickly looked away. He wondered if Tony would be able to tell that he had given himself a bit of relief in the shower and blushed even more at the thought.

He wasn’t prepared for the genius to suddenly turn to him and give him a stern look and Bucky quickly realized that all those times Tony had called him out on making a _murder-face_ , he had been right. “Uh…hey Tony…everything okay?” Bucky asked nervously.

“Something we need to talk about, James,” Tony informed him, still looking at him with that same sort of stern, yet stubborn set to his jaw.

“Uh…okay?” Bucky replied, swallowing down the lump in his throat. _Fuck, he knows something. Something’s up. Fuck, did Jarvis say something? Fuck-fuck-fuck-_ He thought, inwardly screaming at himself.

Tony sighed softly and turned to face him more, still cradling his cup of coffee. Bucky calmly turned to face the genius better and left his sandwich for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell anyone that you’re in pain?” Tony asked him gently.

Bucky’s brows creased deeply and he watched Tony nervously, not really sure to say to that. That had not been what he was expecting at all. “Well?” Tony prompted.

Bucky mentally shook himself, “I-it’s not that bad-“

Tony immediately raised his left hand and shook a metal finger at him menacingly, practically scowling at the soldier. Bucky swallowed hard and frowned. “Barnes. It is pretty bad. I mean, yeah it’s not excruciating, but you’re clearly in pain like- _all the time_. Some movements I get a sharp pain, others it’s just a little twinge. But the ache, it’s always there. Why didn’t you tell us?” Tony asked and the look on his face could only be seen as being hurt and clearly worried.

Bucky sighed softly and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, not really sure how to talk about this. He shook his head slightly and let his hand fall back to his side. “Look, it’s not a big deal, Tony. I appreciate the concern, but I’m used to it. It really doesn’t bother me anymore,” Bucky told him…only somewhat honestly.

Tony scowled at him and took a step towards him and Bucky realized that he was a fair bit taller than the genius. He swallowed hard, looking up at the brunet in his body and suddenly he felt very, very small.

“Enough, James. I’m going to make sure I do everything in my power to help you with this, alright? I can get you a massage therapist, maybe even a physiotherapist if it’ll help. But I think you should let me help you with this. I can’t bear to think that you’re in this kind of pain all the time, it isn’t right. It’s not fair,” Tony told him sternly, his brows pinched up in concern.

Bucky swallowed hard and tried to find the right words. “I-I don’t need a physiotherapist or a massage therapist, Tony. I’m sorry, I have a really hard time letting strangers get close to me and I just-it’d be too hard,” Bucky told him.

“Okay, so no strangers touching you. What about a friend? I’m sure I could give you a massage or maybe Steve? I could always ask Natasha too, I know you two are close.” Tony suggested.

Bucky must have looked completely flabbergasted because Tony gave him this really adorable exasperated look. Bucky quickly shook himself. “I-I'm good. Honest,” Bucky told him and couldn't help the fact that his voice wavered a little.

Tony sighed and shook his head a bit, “When it’s really bad, please just let us know. I already talked to Steve about it. We both agree that it’s not fair that you're dealing with this on your own, James. We only want to help.”

Bucky swallowed, not at all pleased that Tony had told Steve. But he couldn't help the little flutter in his chest at the thought of the two of them caring enough about him to offer to give him a bit of relief in the form of a massage. Instead of finding the right words to thank Tony, he simply nodded and then a moment later the elevator dinged and a chorus of voices could be heard coming towards the kitchen.

Soon they were both sufficiently distracted by lunch preparations and the like. “Well, I think I'm going to head down to the lab and see if I can't get some work done,” Tony informed them with a bit of a stretch as he stood.

Steve smiled from his seat at the kitchen island and Tony went to lean down to give him a little kiss but of course the look of startled surprise on Steve’s face had him pulling up short as he remembered himself. “Uh, I’ll see you later Cap,” He said instead, abruptly pulling away.

Steve blushed a little and nodded, murmuring his good byes but just as Tony was about to leave, he decided to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. This time he was careful when he opened the door and he smirked triumphantly.

Bucky sighed and stood, having witnessed the almost kiss and he was feeling a little conflicted at the moment. “Hmm, maybe I'll go take a nap or something. I'm kinda tired,” He said aloud, yawning a bit.

Tony guffawed on his way past the Soldier. “I don't take naps, Buck. Not unless they’re post-coital,” Tony said absently as he left the room.

Of course Bucky blushed awfully hard at that and glanced around to see if anyone had heard Tony. Of course they all had and he quickly looked to Steve, “I-I didn’t-honest.” He tried, but even he didn’t sound convincing to his own ears.

Clint cackled evilly. Well, so much for hiding the bit of fun he’d had in the shower, even if it had been tainted with guilt. Steve was looking at him with a bit of a nervous smile and his cheeks were slightly flushed and Bucky realized that he needed to get the fuck out of there, like _now_. “And, I'll be going now,” Bucky muttered, quickly darting towards the living room.

Clint was still laughing as he called after him, “Wait! Think you might want to play COD before you nap?!”

Bucky rolled his eyes, “Sure bird brain, come on.”

Bucky didn't even make it until 2pm before he was passed out on the couch, his head tipped back and snoring softly into the room. Clint shook his head, “Barely even got an hour out of him before he passed out.” Clint told Steve as the blond walked into the room.

Steve smiled softly and grabbed a blanket off of one of the recliners, carefully draping it over the brunet. “Ah, well. To be fair, Tony really doesn’t get a lot of sleep and Bucky isn’t used to having a regular body, so I can see how he’d feel a bit worn out.”

Clint hummed, “I guess so. He did have like, half a dozen cups of coffee though.”

Steve smirked, “Stuff's like water to Tony. His body is probably used to consuming twice that amount to function normally.”

Clint shook his head in disbelief, “You’re probably right. Anyway, I’m going to head over to the range and get in a bit of practice before dinner.”

Steve nodded, “Sounds good. I'll see you later.”

Soon it was just Steve and Bucky in the living room together and the blond curled up on the little love seat across the room. He pulled out his book and started in on it and before long most of the afternoon had bled away. By around 3:30pm, Bucky stirred when he heard voices and he sat bolt upright, startled by the noise.

The first person he saw was Steve sitting and reading who was now smiling at him gently. “Uh, hey...how long was I asleep?” Bucky asked, rubbing at his eyes.

Steve smiled kindly, “A couple of hours. Feel better?”

Bucky smiled nervously and stretched a bit as he nodded. Then in strode Tony and Natasha and the genius was talking animatedly with his hands to the red head, metal flashing and arm whirring in his agitation.

“I can’t believe this. I mean...Jarvis is _killing me here_. He knows what happened and yet he’s still restricting some of my access because of stupid protocols. Took me an hour just to get into the suit schematics, which, just _no_. Should not have taken me that long to begin with. Then I can’t even touch the holograms because the metal doesn’t respond to it. So frustrating. So I called Pepper, explained what happened and she suggested I take a vacation. _A vacation_ , Natasha! When was the last time I took a vacation?!” He cried out in indignation.

Steve and Natasha just rolled their eyes and shook their heads at the man but Bucky just looked apologetic. “I’m sorry the arm is giving you so much trouble, Tony. Is there anything I can do to help?” Bucky asked in earnest.

Tony didn't seem to realize that others were present and quickly glanced in his direction, “Oh, don't worry about it. Honestly, I guess I really could use a break. Just thought it would be nicer if I wasn’t confined to the Tower and was on a beach somewhere.”

Bucky smiled nervously and nodded, “I get it, Tony.”

Steve sighed softly, “Well, you really could use a bit of a break. You work too hard.”

Tony rolled his eyes and shrugged, “Yeah well. Now I don't have a choice.” He huffed as he came over towards where Bucky was sitting.

Without much thought, Tony sprawled himself across the couch and half of him ended up across Bucky’s lap. Bucky _oomphed_ , clearly surprised by the weight. It wasn’t unusual for Tony to just flop himself down across someone’s lap, he was definitely a cuddler. What was unusual was the weight, as clearly he had forgotten that he wasn’t his usual self and wasn’t careful about sprawling out.

Bucky laughed a bit, “Shit, didn't know I was so heavy.”

Tony laughed and realized his mistake and quickly moved to sit next to him instead, sighing deeply as he did so. “Sorry, Barnes.”

Bucky shrugged and flashed him a little smile in return. Steve watched the pair quietly from his spot on the couch with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips and Natasha noticed, of course and plopped herself down next to him. “Hey, Steve,” She greeted, patting his thigh gently.

Steve smiled softly at her, “Hey, Nat. How’s it going?”

Natasha shrugged, “Pretty good...though I'm more interested in how you're handling this whole thing. They seem to be doing alright though.”

Steve nodded and glanced over towards the pair and watched as Tony put on the television and started to look for something to watch on _Netflix_. “I dunno, I mean, yeah it’s weird. But they’ll be back to themselves soon enough,” He told her with a bit of a shrug.

Natasha sighed, “You know that's not what I meant, Cap.”

Steve sighed and looked to her, keeping his voice low as he replied, “I'm afraid I'm going to slip and kiss the wrong one.”

Natasha just gave him a little smile as his cheeks flushed lightly. “Is there a wrong one, Steve?”

Steve blushed even deeper and chanced a glance at the pair to see if they’d heard. They hadn’t. He turned his attention back to the red-head. “No...but it’s not exactly how I’d like to go about it,” Steve admitted.

Natasha sighed and patted his thigh, “Any idea when you two are going to finally have that talk with him?”

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes, he looked very young in that moment and Natasha frowned in concern. “It's just...you know Tony doesn’t do the whole feelings thing too well and I’m just an idiot-“ Steve started.

“Not arguing with you there,” She interjected with a little chuckle.

Steve rolled his eyes and huffed, “Yeah, I know. I really do want it to work out though...I just...I have no idea how to bring it up. I mean, I’ve not told him how just _I_ feel about him right now and Tony sure as hell hasn’t.”

“I think,” Natasha started, but then grew quieter, looking over towards the pair who were bickering over what to watch. “I think Tony has been very honest with Bucky from the start, but you’re right. He’s not ever told him explicitly, but I think Bucky may sort of know, just refuses to acknowledge it. Same goes for the way you are with him. I think he knows you feel strongly for him, of course, but he’s got blinders on. He won’t let himself acknowledge that you may have romantic feelings for him because he doesn’t want to step between you and Tony. He’s genuinely happy for the both of you. I know he’s eternally grateful for what you’ve both done for him, he would never want to jeopardize your friendships.”

Steve frowned deeply, brows creased and lip drawn between his teeth. He nodded sharply, “I understand...but he has to know that I’d never give up our friendship for anything.”

Natasha shrugged gently, “Maybe he doesn’t really believe that. Maybe he wants to believe it but is too afraid of he consequences to consider it.”

Steve sighed, “Maybe. But I mean…it’s not like I can just ask him. How do we even go about telling him of our feelings let alone asking him if he’d like to be a part of a _polyamorous relationship?_ ”

Natasha smirked, “Been doing a bit of research I see?”

Steve rolled his eyes, “Tony o _h so kindly_ educated me.”

Natasha huffed in amusement, "Ah, well to be honest with you. I think just coming out with it should do it. Preferably when he’s in his right body, though.”

Steve huffed out a breath and nodded, “Right…I’ll get right on that.”

Natasha chuckled softly and sighed and then Tony called over to the pair, “What do you two want for dinner later? Think we can convince everyone to get Chinese?”

Steve smiled and soon they were arguing over what to order for dinner. Not long after, the rest of the Team came down to join them and once dinner had been decided upon, they ordered and settled in to watch a couple of movies together.

By the time they were two movies in and had made their way through not only dinner, but several bouts of popcorn and treats; Tony was snoring softly whilst spread across both Natasha and Steve’s laps and Bucky found himself thoroughly distracted by the sight they presented through most of the second film.

Steve had his hand wound in the genius’ hair, gently stroking and running his fingers through his long locks absentmindedly. Bucky wished it could really be what it looked like. Him, in his own body with Steve caressing him like that. He frowned slightly and looked away and tried to focus on the rest of the film.

Tony was still snoring softly by the time the second movie ended and when Clint yawned and announced that it was definitely bedtime, Tony awoke. He looked around slightly dazed before he seemed to realize where he was and then sleepily got to his feet. Steve smiled up at him and nodded towards the elevators.

“Ready for bed?” Steve asked him gently.

To which, Bucky’s heart plummeted into his stomach and Natasha did not fail to see the absolutely crestfallen look on his face. _Of course they’re going to sleep together. Of course they do that…_ he thought, panic seeping into his very bones.

“Uh, yeah…but-“ Tony started, casting a nervous glance over at Bucky who had only just barely managed to school his features into something less devastating.

Bucky quickly waved a hand at the two, trying to ignore the knowing looks from Natasha, Bruce, Clint and Thor for just a moment or two longer. “It’s not like I’ve got anything Stevie hasn’t seen before,” He said with a bit of a shrug. “We used to share a bed in the Winter when we were younger, s’not a big deal.”

Steve nodded a little, but clearly he looked a little nervous about the idea of sharing a bed with Bucky’s body. Maybe even apprehensive. “I promise no funny business,” Tony chirped, chuckling nervously as he met Bucky’s gaze, but Bucky could also tell that Tony looked worried and apprehensive himself.

Bucky just huffed and reached up to rub the back of his neck. Eventually the group left and headed towards their own apartments but Bucky stayed behind to tidy up with Natasha. The red-head sighed and looked over at him as she folded a blanket, “You freaking out yet?”

Bucky groaned softly and nodded, “Yeah, just a touch. Thinking about them sharing a bed is really fuckin’ with me.”

Natasha nodded, “Yeah…I can see that. I mean…you’d rather it honestly be you in there instead of just your body. I wonder if Tony will keep his promise…I mean, Steve didn’t say anything about it…maybe he’s-“

“ _Don’t_ -don’t finish that thought. I’m beggin’ you, Nat,” He told her, his eyes pleading with her.

Natasha just smirked a little at him and nodded. “It’s not like he sees me like that anyway, I’m his best friend. It’s just me that wants something more.”

Natasha frowned slightly, “How do you know that for sure, Barnes?”

Bucky sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Don’t start with that again. He’s got Tony, he doesn’t need me. I’m just his friend.”

Natasha frowned and went to interject, but Bucky waved her off. “I’m gonna’ head up and try and get some sleep…actually, no. I’m going to go watch TV and try and distract myself from the fact that the two of them are sleeping together.”

Natasha frowned slightly, “Do you want some company?”

Bucky shook his head, already heading for the elevators, “Thanks, Nat. But no, I’ll be alright. Have a good night.”

Natasha nodded gently, “Alright, night Barnes.”

Bucky sighed deeply as he pulled on a pair of too big black sleep pants and a white t-shirt. He still had forgotten to ask Tony for some of his clothes, but Tony hadn’t really asked him for any of his either, so…

He had to readjust his draw string so that they didn’t fall off his more slender frame and with a heavy sigh, he made his way back out into the living room. Flopping down on the couch gracelessly, he asked Jarvis to lower the lights and then put on an episode of _Friends_ in an attempt to distract himself for a while.

He knew that if he were to try and lie in his bed, he’d be thoroughly unable to distract himself from the two lying together in the opposite room…in the same bed…in his body, next to Steve…

He groaned in annoyance and rubbed his hand over his face, scratching at Tony’s facial hair and then smoothing it down. He sighed and shifted on the couch, leaning his back up against the arm rest and stretching out his legs a little.

About an hour into his little marathon, he heard a noise off behind him and glanced over the back of the couch to find Tony standing in the entryway of the living room. “Hey,” Bucky greeted quietly.

Tony gave him a slightly nervous smile and that’s when Bucky noticed the posture. Tony looked stiff, uncomfortable and had his arms wrapped around himself protectively. “What’s wrong?” Bucky asked curiously, shifting to look at him better.

“I-It’s nothing. Sorry…are you watching _Friends?_ ” Tony asked, trying to distract Bucky from the glaringly obvious way he was practically exuding how uncomfortable he felt.

Bucky frowned the attempt to distract, “Yeah, but…what’s wrong? You look all tense. Is the arm botherin’ you?”

Tony shook his head, coming over towards the couch. “No, it’s nothing…really,” Tony told him with a slight shake of his head.

“That’s a bold faced lie. What’s goin’ on, Tony?” Bucky demanded sternly.

Tony frowned and came over to lean against the back of the couch. “It’s stupid…I’m sorry I bothered you. I’ll just try and go back to bed.”

Bucky reached out as he turned to leave and placed his hand over the metal hand as it rest atop the couch. “I’m sure it’s not stupid, Tony. Tell me what’s wrong, please?”

Tony sighed and reached up with his flesh and blood hand, pinching the bridge of his nose as he let his eyes drift shut. “I-I can’t sleep without my light,” He whispered.

Bucky frowned, not understanding. He cocked his head a little and asked, “Your light?”

Tony nodded and lowered his hand, gesturing towards Bucky’s chest…er, Tony’s chest…where the Arc Reactor was. Bucky’s eyes widened slightly when it dawned on him. “ _Oh_ , your Arc Reactor?”

Tony nodded and huffed out an uncomfortable chuckle. “Yeah, stupid. Right?”

Bucky shook his head as the man rolled his eyes, “It’s not stupid, Tony. It’s a part of you. Here-“ He tried, motioning for the genius to come and sit with him.

Tony tensed for a split second and then seemed to deflate and came to sit down next to the brunet, glancing over at him as he drew his knees up a bit. “Do you want to cuddle?” Bucky asked gently. “I mean, I know you like your snuggles.”

Tony smiled a little as Bucky huffed in amusement, “I-it might help me sleep…if I could see the light. Would it be okay if we cuddled and you uh-“

Bucky blushed but nodded, “Took my shirt off?”

Tony huffed out a soft laugh and nodded. “Yeah, if that’s okay?”

Bucky shrugged, “It’s your body, Tony. Don’t have to be uncomfortable asking me to do that if it’ll help you sleep.”

Tony nodded, gaze slipping away for a moment before, “Alright…”

Bucky smiled gently as he sat up a bit more and tugged his t-shirt up over his head, setting it down on the floor beside them. Tony seemed to visibly relax, all the tension bleeding from his shoulders when he let his gaze settle upon the faint glow of the Arc Reactor. Bucky gave him a timid smile and tucked his legs slightly to the side , offering up some space for the genius to slip in next to him.

Tony gave him a weak smile and slipped in beside him, gently pillowing his head against the brunet’s chest, splaying his left hand gently beneath the Arc Reactor. Bucky smiled nervously and let his arm slip around the genius’ shoulder, holding him close. They chatted absentmindedly for a while, just curled up together like that. Not about anything of real importance, really; mostly about the show and who their favourite characters were.

Before long, Tony had drifted off and Bucky pulled a blanket down off the back of the couch, covering them both with it. He let the TV stay on and asked Jarvis to turn off the lights and not more than a half hour later, Bucky fell asleep too. The AI turned off the TV for them then without a word.

Bucky awoke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and he smiled sleepily as he scrubbed his face with the heel of his hand. He shifted slightly and realized there was a heavy weight on his chest. His eyes quickly flew open to find that Tony had stayed asleep on him through the night and was still sleeping soundly against him. There was quiet laughter off to his side and he glanced over to see Steve coming towards him with two cups of coffee cradled in his hands, a fond smile on his handsome face.

“Mornin’,” Bucky murmured as Steve came and sat down on the edge of the coffee table, only a foot or so away.

“Morning, Buck. I see Tony came and found you,” He nodded towards Tony as he handed off a mug to Bucky.

Bucky smiled nervously, “Uh, yeah. Said he couldn't sleep without his night light.”

Steve nodded, “I suspected that might be the problem. He didn’t want to talk about it and said he was gonna’ go down to the lab or something. But I’m glad he got to get some sleep.”

Bucky swallowed hard and nodded, glancing down at the genius still trapped in his body. “Sorry...I know this must be really weird for you, Stevie,” Bucky murmured before taking a small sip of his coffee.

Steve shrugged a bit as he glanced down at his own cup. “It’s not your fault and really, it could have been worse, I think. I’m just glad my two best guys are getting along so well.”

Bucky took a deep breath and tried really hard not to let that simple phrase hit him too hard. _He didn't mean it like that. You’re not really his best guy, Buck. Get over yourself_. He thought, mentally berating himself. For just a moment he really wanted to imagine the three of them together like that and he had to shut his eyes in an attempt to clear his head before he got too worked up by the thought.

The last thing he needed was a breakdown to start the day off. Tony brow furrowed when Bucky inhaled deeply and shifted in his sleep. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” Steve cooed, wafting the coffee towards the still sleeping man.

Tony grunted, pushing himself up a bit and Bucky let out an _oomph_ of surprise when he found Tony’s flesh and blood hand pressing against his chest. “Sorry,” Tony huffed, quickly moving off of him.

His cheeks were flushed a bit and Bucky smiled nervously when Tony finally realized where he was. “Oh, I'm sorry James. I didn’t mean to sleep away on you like that.”

Bucky shrugged, unable to meet his gaze. “Don’t worry about it.”

Steve smiled quietly as he watched the pair before Tony glanced over at him and took in the sight of the cup of coffee. “Is that for me?” He asked, reaching out and making grabby hands for the cup.

Steve smirked and rolled his eyes before handing over the mug. “Sure, I'll get myself another one.”

“Thanks, Cap. You're the best,” Tony told him before taking a rather large sip of the steaming coffee and making adorably sweet yummy noises.

Bucky watched them quietly, feeling for all the world like an intruder in their private moment yet again. He tried to keep his outward features neutral but couldn't help his brows creasing slightly as he averted his gaze. Steve seemed to notice and cleared his throat, however, “So, everything okay Buck?”

“Yeah, think I'll head down to the gym and get in a bit of a workout after breakfast. Not sure what else I can really get up to today, seeing as how I’m still uh...not me?” He offered with a shrug.

Both Steve and Tony agreed and the blond nodded. “Sounds good, let me know if you’d like some company. I was gonna go for my run but it’s raining pretty bad and I really don't feel up to getting soaked.”

Bucky nodded and shifted, slowly getting to his feet, “Ah, alright then. Breakfast first?”

To which Tony bolted for the kitchen, apparently he was rather hungry.

.

Later that afternoon, Bucky found himself lying flat on his back on one of the sparring mats in the gym as he struggled for air. He was wheezing and struggling to relax his frantically beating heart, but he couldn’t help laughing breathlessly when Steve leaned over him to check on him, a worried but fond expression on his face.

“Jeeze, Buck. You sound like you’re havin’ an asthma attack,” He chuckled, with a shake of his head.

Bucky only laughed harder at that and wheezed even more. Steve chuckled softly and glanced up when Tony walked into the gym. “Uh…is he dying?” Tony asked with a stupid grin.

Bucky rolled onto his side and looked over at the genius, but only started laughing harder and in turn let out a very raspy wheeze. Steve knelt down beside him and rubbed his back a bit, “Well? Are you dyin’ Buck?” He teased.

Bucky shook his head and managed to calm down enough to get out a _no,_ _I’m good_ before Tony joined them. The genius was still looking at him oddly though. “What the hell were you _doing?_ ”

Bucky smirked and pushed himself up into a sitting position, resting back on his hands. “Thought I’d go for a bit of a run is all. Didn’t expect it to take quite so much outta’ me,” He laughed.

Tony snorted and shook his head, “I don’t run, Barnes. I jog…at a leisurely pace when it’s called for.”

Both Bucky and Steve burst out laughing and the brunet shook his head. “Seriously, Tony. 5k shouldn’t have winded you this much, I thought you were a lot fitter than this,” Bucky teased.

Tony guffawed, “5K! Are you crazy!? Are you trying to kill me?”

Bucky grinned and huffed out a breath, “Oh come on. It’s not that bad.”

Tony rolled his eyes, only half annoyed. “I’m fit, Barnes. No doubt about it. But my body doesn’t do running, no. I lift light weights and go for short jogs here and there. But most of my workouts consist of lifting heavy pieces of metal, squatting and the like in the comfort of my lab while I work on the suits.”

Bucky smirked and rolled his eyes, lifting up his shirt slightly to reveal a set of rather impressive abs. “Coulda’ fooled me. I’d say you looked like a regular gym rat with this kinda’ muscle on ya’.”

Tony grinned and waggled his eyebrows suggestively, to which Steve rolled his eyes, his cheeks stained a light pink as he turned his attention away from Tony’s body. Bucky let his shirt slip back into place and shook his head in disbelief at the genius.

Tony sighed softly. “Yeah, _well_ , I got nothin’ on you,” He muttered with a shake of his head, lifting up his own shirt to show off the clearly well defined abs Bucky’s body possessed.

Bucky laughed and grinned, watching as Steve glanced over at the genius and his blush deepened as he took in the sight of Bucky’s body so openly on display. Tony grinned and cackled at the expression on Steve’s face before the blond seemed to catch himself and huffed out a breath, getting to his feet.

“Yeah, yeah. Well, I think Stevie here’s got us both beat,” Bucky teased, grinning evilly as he tried to trip the blond and get him on the mat.

Steve smirked and managed to get out of the way before he ended up on his back. “Oh stop it, you’re like children, I swear,” Steve huffed with a grin.

Bucky and Tony just grinned and soon Bucky was walking over to grab a bottle of water for himself. “Just take it easy on my body, please? I’m not exactly in the prime of my life and it definitely shows,” Tony huffed.

Bucky frowned over at him. “What are you talking about? You’re pretty healthy. I mean, sure you have an unhealthy attachment to coffee, but that’s not so bad. And you do exercise and eat pretty regularly, if Steve has anything to say about it.”

Tony frowned, brow knitting in agitation. “I’m pushin’ forty, Buck. You two are barely even thirty at this point, if you don’t take into account all your years as popsicles.”

Steve was watching the two with a furrow between his brows and Bucky’s frown deepened. “Age is just a number, Tony. You’re only as old as you feel and lemme’ tell ya’-I don’t exactly feel old after a run like that. Sure, a bit tired, but I still feel pretty damn good,” Bucky explained, stretching and rolling his shoulders.

Tony shifted, glancing away from the way Bucky was stretching in _his body_ , clearly feeling uncomfortable. Bucky suspected the age thing was a bit of a sore spot for him, but he didn’t think it any good to dwell on something like that. “Whatever you say, Barnes,” Tony murmured eventually.

Steve let out a sigh of his own. “Bucky’s right. Age is just a number, Tony. You’re strong, healthy and I mean, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know anyone else who could ever successfully pilot your suits the way you do. That definitely takes a great deal of strength on your part.”

Tony rolled his eyes, “I guess-“

Bucky cleared his throat and Tony huffed out an exasperated breath. “What? What do you want me to say here?” He demanded, exasperation clear in his voice.

Steve frowned and then Bucky was striding towards the genius with purpose. He reached out and placed a hand on Tony’s flesh and blood shoulder and gave him a small smile. “Just admit that age is just a number.”

Tony swallowed hard and for a moment, didn’t say anything. They just stared at each other, seeing themselves through each others eyes and for a long moment, everything seemed to just fade away. “It’s just a number,” Tony breathed, blinking back a slew of tears he hadn’t even realized had been building.

Bucky nodded and repeated firmly, “Just a number.”

Neither seemed to know how to break their little stare-off but thankfully Steve seemed to pick up on the slight struggle and jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the mats. “Did you want to spar for a bit, Tony?”

Tony blinked, averting his gaze and glanced towards the blond, “Yeah, sure. Maybe just for a bit?”

Steve nodded, “Sure, Tony.”

Bucky glanced between the two for a moment before he started off towards the elevators. “Think I’m gonna’ head up and wash up. Might relax with a book or somethin’. I’ll see you guys later, okay?”

The two nodded and said their goodbyes and soon Bucky was alone in the quiet of their apartment. He sighed deeply and rest back against his bedroom door, glancing around at his bedroom he suddenly realized he really didn’t want to do anything for the rest of the day. Not entirely sure what to do with himself, he started with a shower and this time, he managed to keep his mind busy elsewhere for the duration of his routine.

Once dried off and dressed, he flopped himself down onto his bed and threw his arm up over his face. He dozed for a short while and awoke to the sound of voices coming down the hallway.

“Please, Steve. I’m beggin’ you. My shoulder hurts and my back is aching something fierce. _Please_ rub it for me?” Tony asked and if Bucky could see him right now, he’d definitely realize that the genius wore a puppy dog face worthy of rivalling even that of Steve Rogers.

Steve huffed, “Okay, okay. I’ll give you a massage, Tony. I just-you know I don’t want him to get upset with me. It may be your body temporarily, but at the end of the day, it’s still Bucky’s.”

“I know, I _know_ , Steve,” Tony consoled as they walked into the blond’s bedroom.

Bucky frowned, unhappy with the fact that his body was giving Tony so much trouble. Thor had said that the spell should wear off in a couple of days and he wondered just how much longer he was going to have to let Tony suffer. Furthermore, he wondered why the _fuck_ Loki had done this in the damn first place. He sighed deeply at the thought and shook his head, turning over onto his side to grab his book from the nightstand.

It wasn’t more than five-minutes before he could clearly hear the sound of himself practically _moaning_ from across the hall. His eyes widened and he choked on his next breath, sitting bolt upright. _Oh God…it’s just a massage. He’s just giving Tony a massage…he’s got his gorgeous hands all over your body and you can’t even really enjoy it. Dear God, but this is horrible. What I wouldn’t give to be in Tony’s place right now._

The moaning persisted along with Steve’s muffled pleas to keep it down. He was clearly laughing though and Bucky couldn’t help blush even deeper whenever the sound of his moaning carried across the hall to him for almost another ten-minutes.

Eventually he just couldn’t take it anymore and got up. He was pretty sure the pair didn’t know he was in his room and he made a big deal of shutting his ensuite bathroom door loud enough so that they could hear it. Hopefully they would think he had been in the shower or something and not secretly listening to them.

It worked apparently. Because the moment the door closed, the moaning stopped. Bucky inwardly sighed before he opened and closed drawers for a moment, pretending to look for something to wear before he was leaving the safety of his bedroom and heading for the kitchen.

…

The next day…brought zero changes and Bucky was starting to go a little snaky. He was actually sure Tony was about to combust from his inability to _do what he wants,_ as it were. And then there was Steve…the poor guy was starting to look quite strained around the edges. Bucky tried not to think about _why_ that was and grimaced and ended up thinking about it anyway.

It didn’t help that he’d had to spend the night on the sofa _again_ with Tony. The genius didn’t even have to search him out this time because they’d been watching a movie together with Steve and though they all kept a careful distance from one another, one that Bucky tried rather hard not to think about, Tony eventually found his way over to Bucky and they’d ended up draped over each other as they slept. Bucky also didn’t let himself think about how when he’d woken that morning, there had been a blanket draped over them both that definitely hadn’t been there before.

“ _Why_ haven’t they switched back again, Thor?” Clint prompted, interrupting Bucky’s spiralling thoughts with a shit eating grin plastered across his annoying face.

Thor seemed to deflate a little, bright eyes shifting from Tony to Bucky…back to Tony again…and then Bucky…and then surprisingly… _Steve_. “There… _sometimes_ ,” Thor admitted. “Loki puts a condition on the spell and it…won’t… _resolve_ itself until that condition is met.”

Bucky swallowed thickly and Tony merely blinked, _beyond_ exasperated at this point. “I hate magic,” Bucky found himself muttering and Tony snorted inelegantly.

“Stole the words right out of my-“ He grimaced, cutting himself off and looked to Bucky apologetically. “Never mind.”

Bucky huffed in amusement despite himself, already scrubbing a hand over his face in frustration. He couldn’t help but notice that Tony’s usually well maintained facial hair was starting to get a little unruly…whereas, the scruff that Bucky tended to sport was neat and…freshly trimmed. He felt like a total heel, not having been taking care of Tony’s body enough to even remember to _shave_.

“Hey-“ That was Tony’s voice and Bucky jerked a little in surprise, obviously startled by the interruption.

“I’m fine,” He muttered, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose.

He had a headache, _god damnit._ He hadn’t had a headache in so damn long. He frowned, rubbing at his temple a little harder than perhaps strictly necessary. “I said, _hey._ I didn’t ask if you were fine,” Tony huffed. “And I know you have a headache, so come on, up you get.”

Bucky jerked in surprise when he felt the metal hand curl carefully around his elbow and Tony paused for a moment as he met Bucky’s gaze. “I’ve got a solution for that. So you and I are going to go up to the penthouse and I’m going to sort you out.”

Bucky frowned a little and went to open his mouth to brush him off, tell him he was okay or some other lie, but then Tony’s eyes narrowed. “I can tell when I’m thinking about lyin’, Buck. Don’t even try it.”

Bucky grimaced and glanced away sheepishly. “You should listen to him, Buck,” Steve murmured and Bucky deflated, nodding.

Hearing the worry in his friend’s voice wouldn’t even allow him to even contemplate refuting the idea. “Okay,” He found himself agreeing and Tony gently guided him to his feet.

The others had given them a bit of space and Bucky really couldn’t fault them for it. Bucky felt like he was hanging on by a thread and Tony, although seemed to be fairing rather well, Bucky could tell that he was just as upset by the whole thing. And now with this thing about a possible _condition?_ Well, it was enough to have them both feeling stretched thin.

So Bucky followed, followed him all the way up to the penthouse, which…Bucky had never been in before and even Steve and Tony didn’t seem to spend all that much time up here either. Which was a little odd, now that he thought about it.

“Sit down, I’ll be right back,” Tony gestured towards the sofa in the sunken living room and Bucky watched him head off down a hall.

Bucky took a moment to glance around the space and swallowed thickly. Tony’s space was…it was something else. All clean lines and sleek marble. Black and white and greys with touches of cobalt scattered throughout. It was beautiful but looked as if you were to touch anything, you’d somehow ruin it. It was odd though, there wasn’t a stitch of red or gold anywhere. _Strange_ , considering those were his favourite colours, or so Bucky had thought.

There was the lingering smell of Tony’s cologne filling the space, a scent Bucky had become far too familiar with since coming to the Tower. It felt intimate here as he settled himself on the sofa, the tension bleeding from his frame as he settled back against the cushions. He took a very deep breath in and let it out slowly and ignored the little pinch he felt deep in his chest, something he realized simply came with the territory.

“Here,” Tony announced as he came back into the living room with a pill in his flesh hand and a bottle of scotch in the other.

Bucky’s dark gaze flickered up to look at Tony questioningly as he came into the living room to drop them off. “I’ll grab a glass.”

Bucky took the offered bottle and pill and watched as Tony went to the kitchen and a moment later, reappeared with two crystal tumblers. “I know I can’t get drunk,” Tony admitted, a wry twist to his lips. “But right now…you can.”

Bucky huffed despite himself and nodded, watching as Tony poured a couple of fingers worth of the amber liquid for each of them and sat down on the sofa beside him. Bucky took the pill, swallowed it dry with little fuss and took the offered glass.

“Don’t think I remember the last time I got drunk,” Bucky admitted thoughtfully and Tony hummed, relaxing back and making himself more comfortable.

Bucky glanced to him and watched as Tony took a sip of his drink and had to look away from his own face and distract himself with a sip of his own. “It’s weird, isn’t it?” Tony murmured and Bucky swallowed the mouthful he’d taken, savouring the beautiful smooth burn of it.

“What’s weird?”

Tony huffed, shaking his head at Bucky’s obvious lie. “ _This_ -“ Tony gestured between them and Bucky met his gaze, forcing himself to look into his own grey-blue orbs. “It’s weird…seeing yourself from another persons perspective.”

Bucky blew out a slow breath and nodded slowly. “Yeah-“ And his voice shouldn’t have been so hoarse, there was no reason for it. “It is.”

Tony hummed, shaking his head, but he wasn’t looking away from himself and Bucky tried not to squirm beneath his stare and _also_ tried not to stare back at himself.

“I’m starting to look a little rough there,” Tony chuckled, touching his chin as if to emphasize his point and Bucky flushed, taking another sip of his drink.

“Sorry, I’ll shave. I noticed it earlier too,” Bucky explained and Tony hummed.

“I’m not really sure I trust you not to butcher my hard work.”

Bucky barked out a surprised laugh at that and turned his face away to hide his smile, but not before he’d seen Tony's own pleased one. “I promise to be careful,” Bucky assured and turned back to see Tony still smiling but now he was looking down into his glass.

“Mhm, you say that,” Tony murmured and Bucky swallowed, taking another sip to distract himself; his headache was already dissipating.

“I mean it,” Bucky chuckled and Tony’s eyes crinkled as he glanced back to Bucky. “And…thanks, for this.”

He gestured with the glass still in his grasp and Tony waved him off, watching as Bucky took another sip. There was a slight rosy flush to his lips and Tony let himself look at…well, _himself_. “It’s interesting though.”

Bucky glanced up at him. “What is?”

“To be able to see yourself like this. Even if it’s not entirely me. I am a narcissist after all, so of course I’m getting a kick out of this,” He snickered and Bucky glanced away, feeling the man’s gaze like a brand on his skin; _Tony’s_ skin.

“I guess it’s interesting, in a way. Though I don’t really fancy lookin’ at myself most days, so it’s not really an appealing uh… _thing_ for me, I guess?”

Tony’s eyes narrowed a touch- _calculating-_ but Bucky didn’t notice, too busy looking into his glass. “Don’t know why,” Tony started, voice having dropped an octave. “I think there’s plenty of nice things to look at.”

Bucky’s gaze snapped to the man at that and found Tony staring down his- _Bucky’s-_ body as if he _owned_ _it._ Bucky’s next breath got trapped in his lungs. “What?” And _Christ_ , he hadn’t meant to sound so timid, so quiet and unsure; so _small._

Tony’s eyes- _Bucky’s eyes_ -flickered up to fix on his and Bucky swore his heart stopped for an instant. “I think…” Tony said slowly, voice gone a touch softer but gaze no less than piercing. “That there’s plenty of nice things to look at,” He finished and Bucky swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat when Tony placed the metal hand against his thigh and-

 _Oh God,_ Bucky was going to die.

He watched as the fingertips of his own metal hand gently traced invisible patterns against his thigh and then-Bucky barely managed to contain the groan that rose unbidden to his lips-that hand was shifting, skimming back up higher on his thigh and Tony was _shifting_ , spreading his legs a little and Bucky did let out a tiny noise at that.

He forced his gaze away when Tony huffed softly under his breath and Bucky just managed to catch sight of the growing bulge between Tony- ** _his_** _own goddamn legs!_

“ _Tony-_ “ Bucky said, hoarse and oh _fuck._

Now Bucky knew what Tony’s voice sounded like when he was turned on and a tad mortified, if he were being honest. “Sorry,” Tony apologized and he did sound apologetic but Bucky wasn’t stupid enough to let himself look just yet. “I was just trying to say, that I think there’s plenty of…nice things to look at. You’re handsome, is what I’m really _trying_ to say,” Tony huffed an embarrassed laugh as he said it.

“Thanks,” Bucky said gruffly, still not looking at him. “But you don’t have to lie ta’me. I’m no Tony Stark, I know that.”

The moment of silence that followed was deafening…and then. “ _Excuse me?_ ” And it was Tony, Bucky’s voice but so entirely _Tony_ , that Bucky had no choice but to meet his gaze and he…he looked _furious_.

Bucky didn’t say anything, _couldn’t_ say anything. Did he always look that terrifying when he was angry? It was no wonder people tended to give him a wide berth. “You don’t have’ta lie to me,” Bucky repeated, quiet, words stilted.

Tony arched a brow in obvious challenge and Bucky swallowed thickly. “I’m not lying to you…and it hurts that you think I _would_ lie to you, about anything.”

Bucky floundered. “What?”

His voice was so quiet, so small and Bucky wasn’t even sure Tony had even _heard_ him.

“I would never lie to you, Bucky. Half of your life was _filled_ with lies and I-I could never-“ Tony shook his head, upset and frustrated and Bucky was at a loss, or so he thought.

“I’m sorry,” He blurted and Tony stilled before slowly bringing his gaze back up to meet Bucky’s. “I-I know you wouldn’t lie to me, I just…I don’t know why I said that.”

Tony sighed deeply and shook his head, taking a long sip of his drink and effectively finishing it off. “You said it, because you don’t believe that you are handsome nor that _I_ find you handsome. Not necessarily that I was _lying_ about it, even if you phrased it that way.”

Bucky exhaled harshly and looked away, leaning forward to set his now empty glass on the coffee table. Leave it to Tony to hit the nail on the head, as it were. “Maybe, but I still shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t fair ta’you.”

Tony huffed, but didn’t disagree. They fell into an uncomfortable silence after that and Bucky shifted, knowing he’d overstayed his welcome. “I should go-“

“No, you shouldn’t,” Tony interrupted and Bucky’s gaze flickered up to meet his, but he couldn’t get a proper read on him, on _himself_. “What you should do,” Tony continued, having risen from his seat. “Is follow me so that I can do something about that unruly mess on your face.”

Bucky looked after him, utterly flabbergasted. “What?” And _Christ,_ was he capable of saying anything else?

Even a _pardon_ would have been better. He grimaced at the thought and then Tony was rounding the sofa and pointedly looking at Bucky. “You’re going to let me trim my face so that you don’t ruin it.”

Bucky spluttered. “I won’t _ruin it_ , I can shave without-“

“Just let me, would you? For my own peace of mind?” Tony wheedled and Bucky heaved a weary sigh.

“Okay, okay fine,” He conceded and Tony smiled, gesturing towards the hallway.

“Bathroom’s right this way,” He announced and Bucky hesitantly stood up to follow.

Just what had he gotten himself into, he wondered.

.

Not five-minutes later did Bucky really begin to question his life choices and how they’d led him to this moment. He was sitting as still as he possibly could…on Tony’s bathroom counter, hands planted on either side of the cool marble in an attempt to ground himself while Tony-while Tony… _shaved him_.

 _Christ_. What the fuck had he been thinking when he’d agreed to this?

Tony had bullied his way between his thighs, forcing him to part his knees enough to allow Tony to step in closer and he was really fuckin’ close now. And it was _weird_. Because Bucky didn’t know what to make of this whole situation because it was Bucky’s _body_ in front of him, but it was still _Tony._ He inwardly groaned at the whole fucked up mess he’d found himself in and closed his eyes as Tony carefully tilted his face this way and that with the metal hand, while his flesh and blood wielded the electric razor.

“There, you’re starting to look a little more like me now,” Tony huffed and Bucky didn’t dare make a noise in response.

They were quiet for a while longer, only the sounds of the razor buzzing away and their quiet breaths filling the space between them. “Alright, that should be it. How’s that feel, Buck?”

Bucky finally felt like he could breathe again when Tony took a step back, eagerly waiting for his reaction, apparently. Bucky gently smoothed a hand over his face and blew out a breath as his fingertips encountered the now clean lines of Tony’s goatee and the soft smooth skin of his throat.

“Much better,” He agreed and Tony chuckled, moving to busy himself with putting the razor away.

“Good, my poor heart was hurting just looking at you like that,” He teased and Bucky chuckled, getting down off the counter.

“Well, I’m terribly sorry to have hurt you like that, Tony,” He huffed, rolling his eyes as he turned to run the water at the sink.

Tony scoffed, but he was smiling so Bucky didn’t take it too personally as he dipped his hands beneath the cool water and then splashed some on his face. “You know, I could give you some of my clothes so you don’t have to wear stuff that’s too big for you,” Tony offered and Bucky cast him a curious look as he was handed a towel, to which Bucky pressed to his now damp face as he shut off the tap.

“Yeah? That uh…that might be a good idea,” He couldn’t help shooting Tony a smirk as he added, “Seeing as I keep havin’ta roll up the cuffs on all my _pants_.”

Tony guffawed and Bucky grinned. He was entirely unprepared for Tony to grab the towel from his hands and then proceed to smack his side with it. He yelped in surprise and darted away from the man, but he was grinning as he attempted to flee the bathroom. Tony was glaring but at least he was grinning too. So there was that.

“You are _such_ an asshole,” Tony scolded and Bucky laughed, finally having stopped the abuse.“I don't know _what_ Steve sees you in.”

Bucky’s breath hitched, but he caught himself. He knew Tony didn’t mean it like that. So, he laughed instead, rolling his eyes at the man. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a _delight_ ,” He found himself saying and Tony’s smile was so totally worth it, even if the smile was on the wrong face, it was still _Tony._

“Yeah, _well-_ “ Tony huffed, turning his gaze towards his chest of drawers. “I’ll grab you some clothes or-or you can pick some out if you want.”

Bucky smiled softly and nodded, following him to his drawers and they spent a few minutes grabbing him some pants and shirts, some pyjamas too. Tony’s gaze strayed around the private space of the man’s bedroom while Tony idly put together several articles of clothing for him to wear. It was opulent, surely, but tasteful and far more lived in than the rest of the space he’d seen so far, _well-_ aside from the bathroom.

The bed was made, a black comforter but Bucky swore he could see an edge of red beneath one edge. His gaze flickered away, however, when he caught sight of a vanity of sorts. It had a small fabric covered bench and three mirrors displayed above the dark mahogany table and it looked rather old and a bit out of place and like-like something a woman might use-

“It was my mother’s,” Tony interrupted his thoughts, his voice quiet, thoughtful and Bucky turned to look at him, startled.

“I used to watch her do her makeup, pin her hair up and get ready for a night out. When I was much younger, of course,” He shrugged a little and went over to the vanity, trailing his metal fingers lightly along a delicate looking jar of something or other. “Couldn’t bare to part with it.”

Bucky couldn’t breathe.

To see Tony touching-touching his mother’s things, something Tony himself cherished so deeply clearly…with Bucky’s meta-

Bucky couldn’t find the words, nor the ability to breathe for several long seconds, but Tony hadn’t noticed, too busy watching as Tony shifted and leaned over the vanity to pick up a bottle of cologne, something that clearly belonged to him that had been sitting on the table on a small glass mirrored plate. It had been sitting amongst three other bottles of what looked like women’s perfume, but Tony could tell simply by the colour and design of the bottle that this was a man’s cologne.

His suspicions were further confirmed when Tony shifted to bare his throat and spritzed some of it near his right side. Bucky finally managed to get in a breath and it sounded slightly wheezy to his own ears and he could only imagine what it must have sounded like to Tony.

The man turned to look at Bucky as he set the cologne back into its _spot_ and gave him a small smile. “ _Sorry_ , I like to wear it and I felt like something was missing the last couple of days. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind,” Bucky said, voice gruff and definitely all kinds of strained.

Tony didn’t comment and instead ducked his head a little and turned to look at himself in the mirror of the vanity. Bucky couldn’t breathe again. Not when Tony proceeded to pull the tie from his hair and then carefully went about pulling the longer locks he was unaccustomed with back into a more tidy bun.

Bucky watched. Was helpless not to at this point. The bun wasn’t even half bad, considering Tony didn’t exactly have much practice with that sort of thing himself. “You know-” Bucky started, but had to clear his throat a bit before continuing. “That doesn’t look half bad.”

Tony laughed, soft as if he were embarrassed by the compliment and Bucky couldn’t help his smile. “Thanks,” He chuckled, shaking his head as he stood back up and even if he hadn’t managed to get some of the little hairs to quite stick where they were meant to, they did frame his- _Bucky’s-_ face quite nicely.

Bucky wasn’t sure how to move forward from this slightly awkward conversation, so he cleared his throat and tried another tactic. “I could uh…give you some of my clothes, if you want. I uh…well I know Steve tends to wear his shirts a little tight,” Bucky offered, a lopsided tilt to his lips as he let himself look at his own body and the way he was stretching out the grey t-shirt rather obscenely.

Tony snorted and looked down at himself and Bucky felt himself flush lightly at the way his gaze seemed to darken at the sight. “Nah, I’m good,” Tony told him and Bucky didn’t know what to do with the fact that the man was now looking up at him through his lashes.

 _Christ_ , but this was all so confusing. Because Bucky wasn’t turned on at the sight of himself, he wasn’t. But Tony was forcing him to look at himself in a different light and it was _doing_ things to him. He swallowed thickly and turned his head away from the sight of him. “Alright, well…thanks for the clothes…and the shave,” He cleared his throat and went to pick up the bundle of clothes Tony had left on the dresser.

“It was no trouble,” Tony admitted and he was obviously delighting in the fact that there had been a steadily growing blush forming on his own damn cheeks and _Christ_ , but Tony had never seen _himself_ blush before; he thought he looked pretty damn good with a blush.

“ _Oh-_ “ Bucky said, turning to look at Tony, though he didn’t meet the man’s eyes. “Uh, just out of curiosity…what uh-what’s the name of that cologne? It-it smells nice, is all.”

Tony smiled at him and it was a slow spreading smile, one that threatened to turn a little roguish and a hell of a lot dangerous if he found himself so inclined. Bucky swallowed… _hard._ “It’s _Georgio Armani_ ,” Tony murmured. “ _Eau de Nut Pour Homme._ ”

Bucky made a soft noise in the back of his throat at the way the French just rolled off his tongue in a way that had goosebumps breaking out along his skin and _then_ Tony’s smile turned downright _dangerous._

“R-right, thanks. I’ll uh…I’ll see you later, Tony,” He told him, already turning back to the door.

“How’s your headache?” Came Tony’s all too knowing voice and Bucky’s steps faltered.

He shook his head, a wry smile on his face as he cast Tony a knowing look of his own. “ _Gone_ ,” And then Tony watched him leave and only barely resisted saying, _hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave_ and yes okay, he was totally a narcissist, this was really not helping his case.

.

“Hey, Steve? I wanted to ask you a quest-“ Bucky’s breath caught, words stalling in his chest at the sight that met him.

Steve let out a strangled sound and grabbed the pillow he’d been reclined against, shoving it hastily between his legs in an attempt to cover himself. His eyes were wide, _panicked_ and Bucky stammered apologizes as he averted his eyes and quickly backtracked out of the room, tugging his friend’s door shut hard behind him.

Bucky stood outside Steve’s bedroom door for a split second, just… _staring_ at the wood as if it held all the answers to the known universe. But he could hear movement on the other side and he quickly darted back down the hallway. He could ask Steve the question later, it seriously wasn’t important.

Oh _Christ_ , but he’d interrupted the man while he’d been…he groaned, swearing harshly under his breath as he came into the living room and oh _fuck_ , he could hear Steve coming out of the bedroom calling after him apologizing and it was _Bucky_ who should have been apologizing, not Steve!

Of course Bucky ran smack dab into Tony, his own damn body like an immovable object. He _oomphed_ in surprise and Tony grunted a little at the impact, but didn’t even have the decency to move. _Fuck._

Bucky bounced back a bit and nearly stumbled, Tony’s flesh and blood hand darting out to steady him, but Bucky just squirmed out of reach, shooting the man an apologetic look as he headed for the door, near on _sprinted_ for it.

“Sorry, _sorry,_ ” He apologized belatedly and Tony made a softly curious sound as he tried to get Bucky to slow down for a second to no avail.

Bucky left the apartment in a rather mad dash to escape and Tony was left floundering in the living room when Steve came barrelling in looking dishevelled and flushed, _embarrassed_ Tony’s brain helpfully surmised and clad in a pair of loose grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

“What happened?” Tony blurted and watched in incredulity as Steve’s cheeks went just that much darker.

“ _Fuck-_ “ Steve muttered, running a hand hastily through his hair and fluffing up the already messy blonde strands.

Tony’s eyebrows shot up as he watched his lover shake his head and start biting his lower lip in that all too nervous tick of his. Now Tony was really damn curious. “ _Well?_ ” He prompted, crossing his arms in front of his chest-metal and flesh alike-in a slight show of impatience.

Steve made that soft strangled sort of sound again but he couldn’t seem to meet Tony’s eyes- _Bucky’s_ eyes-when he finally managed to speak, instead his bright blue gaze was fixed over his shoulder at nothing in particular.

“I-“ He took a deep shaky breath. “Bucky walked in on me while I was…touching…myself.”

Tony full on _grinned_.

“Is that so,” He said thoughtfully.

Steve huffed a breath through his nose and Tony watched as he shifted from one foot to the other. He dropped his gaze to- _yep-_ sure enough, the blond was still sporting a rather sizeable erection. Tony’s grin turned feral.

“Hey there, big guy,” Tony murmured, taking a step towards his lover.

Steve’s sharp gaze snapped up to Tony’s face and saw the absolute _hunger_ reflected in Bucky’s grey-blue eyes. He was ashamed to admit that his knees grew a little weak in the face of it. “Tony, _no._ ”

“Tony, _yes,_ ” The genius purred and Steve made a wounded sound and looked away, already taking a faltering step backwards.

“ _Tony_ ,” Steve gasped, rather desperately, Tony thought at least. “I- _we-_ can’t. J-just, it’s fine, I’ll go take care of it, I just-“

“Oh no you don’t,” Tony warned, already following him to the bedroom. “It’s been going on 36 hours now with no hanky panky. I’m going just as crazy as you are and I know how you get, _Christ_ , being in Barnes’ body has got me feeling-feeling-“ He threw up his hands in annoyance when he couldn’t seem to find the right word.

Steve grimaced slightly and tried not to let himself look at Tony as he followed him into the bedroom. “Let’s just say super soldier libidos are terrifying,” Tony sighed and Steve froze, his back still to Tony and now he _really_ couldn’t resist looking to him.

Tony was pinching the bridge of his nose, his bright eyes closed and face scrunched up in the absolutely picture of frustration. So of course Steve let his eyes drop to Ton- _Bucky’s-_ crotch…where he was tenting his jeans rather obscenely.

Steve let out a curiously aroused noise and Tony’s eyes snapped open at the sound, his hand dropping to his side and if his eyes narrowed and turned sharp and calculating… _well,_ Steve was too busy staring elsewhere to notice.

“Come on, Steve,” Tony wheedled and Steve’s gaze snapped up to meet his. “We don’t even have to touch each other.”

Steve shook his head but Tony could already see his resolve thinning. “ _No_ ,” Steve breathed, _emphatically._ “It’s wrong, Tony. You’re-he’s-you’re in _Bucky’s body_ you can’t-“

Tony pouted and Steve didn’t know how the fuck it was somehow _worse_ than the bedroom eyes he’d been exuding but it was. But well, Bucky pouting had always been a weakness for him, wanting to make that bottom lip purse, press his thumb down on it a little and part those pretty pink lips so he could lick inside.

Steve positively _groaned_ , such a needy wanton noise that it momentarily startled Tony. That is, until he realized _why_ Steve had made it in the first place. “Oh, _oh,_ ” Tony cooed, near on _crowed_ with delight. “Come on now…Stevie.”

Steve took a stumbling step backwards, but Tony didn’t give him an inch before he was stepping into the blond’s space and pouting sweetly. “Don’t be like that, pal-“

“ _Tony-_ “ Steve blurted, _beyond_ exasperated. “ _Stop it-_ “

Tony didn’t drop the pout, but now it was really more of a frown. “Okay, I’m sorry, you’re right.”

Steve blinked, caught off guard by not only the _apology_ but the _admission_. He relaxed, shoulders slumping slightly as he huffed out a tense breath. Tony watched him all the while, though he had taken a respectful step back as Steve tried to settle himself.

“Thank you,” Steve sighed, rubbing at his temple a little. “Now, I’m just going to go take a shower-“

“No, you’re not,” Tony refuted.

Steve blinked, hands dropping to his sides. “Pardon?”

Tony took a slow breath in and exhaled a little shakily. “I…would like you to go sit on the bed for me.”

Steve blinked and carefully studied Tony’s expression, but of course, nothing changed. He looked unreadable and Steve found himself wanting to say no, just on principle but there was something in his eyes that kept him holding his tongue.

He went to sit on the bed.

Tony’s next breath was a hitch of a thing and then he was taking a few careful steps towards the reading chair by the window without taking his eyes off his lover. “Lose the pants…and shirt,” He ordered, just as Steve turned to sit.

He paused and cast a calculating glance to his lover before his hands went to the hem of his t-shirt and soon the waistband of his sweats. No underwear of course. He _had_ been busy after all. Tony hummed softly under his breath as he made himself comfortable in the oversized chair, his attention solely focused on Steve as he sat down at the edge of the bed, body turned towards Tony.

“Scoot up, lay on the pillows and make yourself more comfortable, darling,” Tony murmured and Steve’s breathing hitched.

He glanced towards the pillows and rumpled blankets by the headboard and then slowly turned to brace himself on his hands and knees before crawling up the mattress. Tony hummed under his breath at the sight of Steve, muscles shifting along his back and thighs, the round globes of his ass.

“You have such a nice ass,” Tony sighed and Steve shot him an embarrassed glance as he made himself more comfortable, back against the pillows.

Tony hummed under his breath as he let himself look his fill, the blond laid out against the lighter beige comforter with delicate filigree that spread down the sides of the bed. “Well, don’t you look pretty,” Tony murmured, but Steve knew Tony wasn’t really talking to him.

Still, he blushed anyway and Tony smiled, grey-blue gaze sliding along his body, adoring the light flush to his skin, the way his cock jumped at the soft praise. “Go on then,” Tony murmured, shifting minutely in his seat, spreading his legs in an attempt of his own to get more comfortable.

Steve shuddered at the light command and found himself turning his head away from his lover. Tony’s gaze narrowed at the move, but one of the blond’s hands did start to caress down his body, ghosting over an already peaked nipple and then lower to caress over his abs.

They jumped at the light touch and Tony let out a breath as his fingers skimmed down closer to his cock. “Ah, _ah,_ ” Tony chided and Steve’s hand stilled in its path. “You’re going to look at me while you touch yourself, Steve.”

Steve downright _whimpered_ at the command and Tony smirked, lips curling deviously as he watched his lovers cock jump against his belly, pre-come already glistening at the head.

“ _Tony-_ “ Steve whined pitifully and Tony licked his lips, shifting his hips in his seat.

“You look at me or you don’t get to come and I know you’re dyin’ for it,” Tony threatened and was pleased as punch when Steve let out another one of those delightful whines.

It didn’t take too long before Steve let the tips of his fingers trail back up the path of his abs and chest and Tony knew he was stalling, giving himself a minute to work up to it and Tony let him, knowing that he would give in eventually.

He didn’t have to wait long and he held his breath when Steve’s dark gaze turned to him and in the same instant, the hand he’d let fall to the bed beside him, reached up to grab the base of his cock in a harsh grip, a terribly wonderful groan catching in his throat at the sight of _Bucky_ just _right there._

Tony let out a shaky breath at the sight of his lover and licked his lips, legs spreading wider in his seat in an attempt to make room for the growing problem in his jeans. _Fucking jeans._

“There you are,” Tony breathed, gaze practically _raking_ over Steve’s body, adoring the light flush to his pale skin.

Steve shuddered again and gripped the base of his cock a touch harder. “I-I’m-“

“So close already, _I know_ sweetheart,” Tony consoled. “Tug on your balls, baby. I’m not ready for this to be over yet.”

Steve whimpered and did as he was told. He drew the leg farthest from Tony up to plant his foot on the mattress and bent the other, making sure that Tony could see him properly as the hand that had been lightly toying with his nipples slipped down between his legs to fondle at his balls.

Tony cursed under his breath when Steve bared himself a little more to him and then tugged roughly at his sac, the blond’s pretty grunt and whine of dissatisfaction so damn pretty to his ears. “That’s it, sweetheart,” Tony praised and Steve whimpered, backing off touching himself at all, but Tony was thrilled to see his cock jump yet again.

“ _Please_ ,” Steve begged. “Stop talking, Tony.”

Tony blinked and then grinned. “Yeah, _right_. The only way you’ll get me to shut up is if your cock is in my mouth.”

Steve whined and shifted his hips against the bed and Tony watched in awe as his cock jumped again, pre-come weaving a glistening thread between abs and its shiny head. “You wish Bucky were here, baby, I know,” Tony consoled and Steve whimpered, shutting his eyes against the sight the man made.

“ _Tony-_ “ Steve tried to plead but Tony just shook his head and snapped his fingers.

“Eyes on me,” He demanded and Steve hurried to open them. “That’s better,” Tony praised. “Go on and touch yourself for me, sweetheart. I want to see you dirty up those abs.”

Steve shivered and nodded, letting his hand firmly grasp his cock. He managed a couple of strokes without closing his eyes, gaze roving over the picture Tony made sitting in his reading chair. Bucky’s body was on display like that, legs spread and shoulders back, the picture of commanding and Steve groaned at the sight and stroked himself faster, tighter.

“That’s it,” Tony whispered, tongue darting out to wet his lips and Steve whimpered, hips shifting up from the bed.

He found he couldn’t truly look away, not even if he wanted to right then. Bucky was so hard and right there, so damn close and Steve wanted him, wanted him so badly. He wanted _Tony_ there too. Wanted the three of them tangled up in bed together, limbs thrown over one another in a haphazard mess. He wanted soft sighs and languid moans and warm mornings and bright laughter. He wanted sweet kisses and passionate kisses, hungry and needy kisses and he wanted hugs, so many damn hugs.

His next breath in hitched and _oh God_ , but he was so close.

He wanted to come but more than that, he wanted Tony _and_ Bucky to be there with him and the fact that he couldn’t have that was a painful ache in his chest, made his next breath in a bit of a struggle. He found himself whimpering, eyes nearly shutting in his moment of weakness, but he managed to keep them open the barest amount, gaze heavy lidded as he focused on Tony, Bucky’s body, the sound of his best friend’s voice, Tony’s words.

It was all too much. He felt overwhelmed by his desire for his friend, for Tony in that moment too and he stroked himself faster, grip tight and perfect as he thumbed roughly over the head, right beneath that sensitive ridge and he felt it. That tell-tale bodily clench, the heat beneath the surface of what felt like his whole self and he knew it was going to be a hell of an orgasm, but could do nothing, didn’t _want_ to do anything, to stop it.

Tony was whispering something to him, but all Steve heard was the sound of Bucky’s voice, that low timbre, the rough aroused rumble that Steve just knew would be the death of him someday. He whimpered- _needy-_ and watched as Tony seemed to have just about enough of only watching. The metal hand-that _damn hand-_ Tony pressed the heel of it against the cock now straining his jeans, lifting his hips up into it and _grunting_ at the much needed friction and Steve lost it.

He came, grip just the side of too-tight-not-enough and thrust his hips up, fucking into his fist pointedly as he coated his stomach, the warmth of his come nothing in comparison to the heat of his skin. Tony was moaning- _Bucky_ was moaning-and Steve shuddered hard at the sound as he continued to stroke himself through it. He’d closed his eyes for a moment, having been unable to keep them open as he’d come, but now his bright blue orbs opened to find Tony once more.

 _Tony_ , who was panting, breathing roughly as he shuddered hard, that damned metal hand pressing and rubbing at his cock over his jeans and Steve watched, entranced as his hips bucked up as if of their own accord and oh _fuck_. Tony was coming- _Bucky_ was coming-and Steve _moaned,_ desperate and throaty and so turned on at the sight it physically _pained him_.

But of course that was ruined in the next moment and not necessarily by Tony’s next words, it was definitely the guilt that ruined it.

“ _Wow-_ “ Tony breathed, exhaling shakily and drawing in an equally shaky breath. “I don’t think I’ve come in my pants like some damn teenager since we first started dating.”

And Tony huffed a soft laugh at himself, reluctantly prying his metal hand away from his lap, glancing up to find Steve’s expression shifting from needy and turned on to- _oh boy,_ Tony was in trouble-guilt ridden and ah _fuck_ , those were tears in his baby blues.

“ _Steve-_ “ Tony started and he’d barely gotten that far before the blonde was up and off the bed, heading for their bathroom.

Tony followed, maybe not as fast, but just about. Unfortunately Steve had already shut the door on him, locked it, too. “ _I’m sorry-_ “ He heard the blond whimper and Tony could hear the hitched breath he took next.

“ _Hey,_ there’s nothing to be sorry for, love. This was my fault, I shouldn’t have pushed, okay? Please don’t feel bad, baby,” Tony tried to console and Steve only let out a desperately wounded sound.

“S-stop using pet-names, Tony. It-it’s too-“

“ _Okay_ , okay, Steve. I’m sorry, alright? Do you want me to go? I’d rather not, but if it’s what you need, I will.”

There was a soft thunk against the wood of the door and Tony frowned, knowing that Steve was probably pressing his forehead against it. So, he did the same and he knew Steve would be able to hear it just as he had.

“Y-you don’t have to go,” Came Steve’s soft whisper. “I just-“ He sighed shakily and Tony just knew he was beating himself up about this. “Can you make up the bed? I’m…I’m going to take a shower, try and clear my head.”

“Of course-“ He barely managed to stop from adding _darling_ and exhaled shakily himself. “I’ll put fresh sheets on and set out some clothes for you, alright?”

“Okay, Tony,” Steve murmured and Tony’s lips curved into a worried frown.

He’d fucked up, he knew that now and the guilt of it sat heavy in his stomach. He glanced down at himself as he shifted, forehead still pressed against the door and grimaced slightly as his now cooling come started to get uncomfortable. He sighed as he heard Steve start up the shower and decided he’d better wash up quickly himself and headed for his floor, hoping no one would happen across him.

.

When Tony had come back not ten-minutes later with fresh clothes and a clearer head, Steve was still in the shower, so Tony busied himself with stripping the bed and pulling out a set of fresh sheets. After he’d finished that, he went about pulling out a pair of grey pants for Steve and a white t-shirt, knowing he’d probably be too warm after his shower to want a sweater on just yet. He pulled out a pair of black briefs and a pair of socks before he set them neatly on the dresser beside the bathroom door.

He lingered there for a moment, just listening to the sounds of the water running, splashing against tiles and glass and he frowned, closing his eyes as he heard the unmistakable sound of a soft hitched breath, a _sob_ and Tony’s heart _ached_ at the terribly wretched noise.

“Oh, darling,” He found himself whispering and quietly pulled himself away from the door, knowing that if he stood there any longer, he’d not be able to resist going in and scooping his lover up into the biggest hug he could manage.

.

Meanwhile, Bucky was battling with guilt of his own.

Stretched out on one of the chaise lounges in the Tower’s library. He didn’t even think most of the Team knew that they even _had_ a library. He’d stumbled upon it rather early on during his stay and had taken a liking to coming here to relax and de-stress either with a good book or just to simply bask in the quiet.

And it was quiet here, so much so that every soft gasp and shaky breath he took felt as if they echoed around him. And he was doing _a lot_ of gasping just then. He’d come down here to try and settle himself after the scene he’d stumbled upon. He had definitely not expected to find Steve in such a compromising position and seeing the blond all spread out on his bed, big hand wrapped tight around his cock as he jerked himself off was enough to have Tony’s body responding before he’d even fully digested the situation.

Bucky had fled of course and the second he’d flopped down onto the lounge, he’d looked down at himself- _Tony’s self-_ and seen the tent in his comfortable sweats and just _groaned_. Because of course despite the panic of having walked in on something so private, he was ridiculously turned on and he was a weak, weak man.

Any excuse to give himself a bit of pleasure he usually took. After nothing but pain for so long, he liked to pleasure himself, he spent probably too much time exploring his own body these days but he _liked_ _it_. Liked touching himself, always testing, seeing how long he could deny the pleasure of relief before he inevitably pushed himself over the edge, usually not only once or twice, but four or five sometimes in a night.

He shuddered as he’d slipped a hand beneath the waistband of his sweats and gripped himself and he wanted to tip his head back against the rest but found he apparently wanted to look even more.

Seeing Tony’s body like this was driving him crazy. He hadn’t touched himself since that first morning in the shower, keeping his washing and bathroom visits perfunctory at best thereafter. But after seeing Steve spread out like a damned _feast_ , he was hard pressed not to do something about his hard-on.

He’d started off slow, stroking himself slowly, hand and cock still hidden beneath his sweatpants, but it didn’t take long for him to tire of that. He shoved his pants down, just enough to bare himself and then just a touch further-he liked to look at Tony’s thighs, okay?-and then rucked up his shirt nearly to his armpits…just in case things got a little messy.

His gaze got caught on the Arc Reactor, however, and he took a moment to just look at the incredible piece of technology while he continued to stroke himself slowly, his grip firm. That was another thing entirely; the _callouses_ on Tony’s hands, _God_ but they were amazing. His gaze lingered on the Arc Reactor for a little while and he soon found his free hand tracing a gentle line of caresses along his abdomen, which was straining- _taut-_ with tension, wanting to come, but Bucky wanted to drag this out just a bit longer.

He dragged the tips of his fingers up to the Reactor and gently trailed them across the mottled scar tissue there, pink mostly, with whiter spots and just like his own they were slightly raised. They were tender too, just like his. It made him a little sad, looking at the scaring there, thinking of his own as well, but Tony had _survived_ and it _showed_ and that was all that mattered, was that he was here and whole and well.

Now if only Bucky could make himself stop thinking of his best friend’s guy in more than a friendly sense, that would be great. He inwardly grimaced at the thought but quickly pushed it aside when he shivered on the next downstroke. The pleasure was too good to ignore right then and he let the hand that had been tracing carefully around the Reactor drop much lower, down to fondle his sac gently. He’d found that Tony was quite sensitive there, not like himself. Well, not entirely. He was sensitive just about everywhere, but his balls could take a bit of abuse, unlike Tony’s.

Every gentle touch made him shiver and twitch and it was just so _good._

He exhaled roughly through his nose in the next moment, his thumb and forefinger squeezing the tip of Tony’s cock before he swiped the slightly rough pad of his thumb over his leaking tip and then he was coming, hard and fast, so damn sudden it punched a desperate groan out of him. He shuddered hard, practically doubling over as he stroked himself through it, his eyes falling shut as he rode it out.

“ _Fuck-_ “ He breathed after a long moment.

He felt rather winded, breathless in the face of his orgasm and he shook his head at himself. He glanced down at his come covered hand and made a curiously startled sound as he noted some of the pearly liquid splashed against his still quivering abs. He swallowed thickly at the sight. Tony was by no means a gym rat and yet he did manage to keep in exceptional shape with piloting the armour and his time in the workshop.

But though he clearly had well defined abs, there was a softness to his middle that just made Bucky want to press his lips to them and feel them shiver beneath his tongue. He groaned, cock twitching feebly against his thigh and couldn’t help himself when in the next moment, he raised his hand to his lips and licked some of Tony’s come from his palm.

Bucky didn’t realize it right away, but he was _mewling_ when he finally got a taste of the man. He shuddered so hard he was sure his teeth were about to clack if he didn’t clamp his jaw shut. He let himself revel in the taste of the man for only an instant and then it was as if everything just snapped back into place.

He stopped breathing, his heart practically sputtering in his chest and then he was shifting onto his side to reach for the box of tissued on the little table nearby. He wiped himself as clean as possible hastily with a desperate sort of urgency now. It didn’t take long for him to right his clothing either, tucking himself back gingerly into his briefs.

He grimaced as he did so and then glanced down at the chaise, wondering if he’d gotten anything on the lush fabric. He hadn’t, thank goodness and looking down at his own self he was grateful not to have made a mess on that front either. So, he sat himself back down onto the chaise and let out a bone weary sigh. “And now I’m tired,” He muttered, bracing his elbows on his knees as he pressed his fingers against his temple perhaps rougher than necessary. “And feeling insanely guilty.”

He huffed and shook his head, hands dropping from his temple. “ _Fuck-_ “ He muttered and scowled ahead at nothing in particular.

He sat there for another three-minutes before he just couldn’t take it anymore. “ _Fuck it-_ “

He got to his feet and took a deep breath, clenching and releasing his hands as they balled into fists at his sides. “You can’t keep doing this, pal,” He breathed. “It ain’t right and no amount of you beating yourself up over it is going to fix things. You’re a person and you’re allowed to _feel things,_ even if they’re things that aren’t exactly okay. _So what-_ “ He scoffed, turning and heading out of the library.

“So you’re in love with Steve still, you’re jealous of Tony but not really because they _deserve each other_ and you maybe sort of love Tony too. You’re _allowed_ to love them both, you’re allowed to have feelings for them,” He muttered and now he was really gathering steam. “But if you’re ever going to get over them, you’re going to need to come to terms with the fact that you _can’t have them._ ”

He exhaled shakily, pushing the button to call the elevator roughly and then again when it didn’t immediately open. He was scowling as the doors opened and then he was inside, the elevator taking him up the few floors to their apartment’s floor when he’d given the destination.

His anger, his frustration and annoyance at himself was bubbling up and over and he really needed to get a handle on himself if he was really going to do this and do it right.

“You’re going to march in there and lay it all out,” Bucky breathed, unaware that his hands had started to shake, that the tension in his shoulders was becoming near unbearable. “You’re going to tell them how you feel and you’re _not_ going to apologize for it. You’re going to tell them that you love them and they’re going to say, _thank you, Bucky but we’re happy together_ and it’ll be closure for you, pal. Then you can get over them and you’ll tell them that you’re going to get over them because they deserve to be happy _together_ without you stomping all over their relationship, gettin’ in the way and shit.”

“And you will get over them,” He breathed, exhaling roughly through his nose as he came to a stop outside of the apartment he shared with Steve. “You just need to hear them say they don’t love you like that and get over it.”

He braced himself, tried to check his anger and then pushed open the door.

So of course his anger left him in a rush when in the next moment he walked in and found Steve asleep on the sofa, no Tony in sight. His shoulders dropped and he felt like his strings had been cut at the sight of the man sleeping, face slack, _peaceful._ He frowned, gaze softening as he came into the living room quietly.

There was an empty mug on the coffee table with one of Steve’s sketchbooks nearby but there weren’t any other mugs or tablets lying around, so Bucky assumed Tony wasn’t there. He let out a soft sigh. He wasn’t about to wake Steve just to screw up his day even _more._ He grimaced a bit and decided he’d just wait for the man to wake up and _then_ he’d tell him. It was getting close to the time Steve usually made dinner anyway, maybe he’d wake up soon and Bucky could tell them both over dinner.

He went to the kitchen to busy himself for a moment, putting on a pot of coffee…because he _always_ craved coffee in this body and he was _tired_ , _god damn it_. He grabbed the book he’d left on the kitchen table for something to do as he made his way back into the living room with a steaming cup of coffee and sat down on one of the oversized chairs.

He tried to read, really, he did. But he kept getting distracted by the blond curled up on the sofa close by. He was curled up facing the coffee table, head resting lightly atop one of the throw pillows. There was one of the many blankets that littered the apartment draped over his middle and it appeared to have fallen from his shoulders during sleep.

Bucky shifted in his spot, letting his book rest face down on his knee as his gaze slipped over his friend, noting the steady rise and fall of his chest. He also couldn’t help noticing the little shiver that worked its way through the man’s frame.

He frowned, wondering if he was having a bad dream or something, but his face remained peaceful…and then he shivered again. Bucky stood, not thinking much of it. Steve was clearly cold, his shoulders only covered by his thin t-shirt and Bucky could fix that. He walked over quietly and gently lifted the edge of the blanket draped around his middle and carefully tugged it up to pull it over his friends shoulders.

When he pulled back from his task, he was surprised to find Steve looking up at him, a gentle smile on his face and his baby blues barely visible beneath his heavy lids. “ _Sorry,_ ” Bucky apologized quietly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Steve hummed and sighed sleepily as he turned to rest more on his back, making sure the blanket didn’t fall as he did so. “ _Mmm_ , s’okay,” Steve hummed, stretching a little and Bucky was about to take a step back and sit down again, when the blond reached out lightning fast and snagged him by his hip.

Bucky _yelped,_ entirely caught off guard as Steve pulled him down on top of him. He squirmed uncomfortably as Steve’s arms wound tight around him and before Bucky could get out more than a, “ _Steve!_ What are you-?” Before he was being kissed within an inch of his life.

Bucky exhaled in surprise through his nose, entire body tensing up at the press of warm, soft lips against his. But of course his lack of well, kissing _back_ had Steve’s lips stilling against his and for a split second, Bucky let himself enjoy the sweet press before Steve was pulling back sharply, Bucky jerking back just as fast.

“ _I’m sorry-_ “ Bucky apologized, scrambling back inelegantly from his friend’s lap and Steve let him, nearly taking a knee to the groin as Bucky hastily got up.

Steve blinked, obviously shocked by what he’d done and soon he too was getting up in a rush to speak to Bucky, to _reassure him_. “What are you apologizin’ for?” Steve breathed, eyes wide, still panicked and now there was a lovely flush to his cheeks that was _doing things_ to Bucky. “ _I’m_ the one who kissed _you_. I just-I was-“ He shook his head, exasperated. “I was half asleep and I saw you-“ He gestured to Bucky in _Tony’s body_ and Bucky let out a soft _wounded_ noise.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“What’s going on in here?”

And that was _Tony._ Bucky swivelled to see Tony standing not five feet away, eyes wide and hands up in a questioning manner and Bucky’s face positively _crumpled_. “I’m so sorry, Tony. I was-I was fixin’ the blanket on ‘im, he was cold, _shiverin’_ ,” He explained.

“And I woke up,” Steve sighed. “Saw him standing over me and I-“

“ _I_ kissed him, it wasn’t his fault,” Bucky lied, desperate.

Steve groaned, _loudly_ and Bucky glanced over to see him scrubbing a hand over his face in frustration. “ _Bucky-_ “ Steve said, ever so patiently. “ _I’m_ the one who kissed _you,_ I thought you were Tony, I was half asleep. I’m sorry.”

Bucky made a _strangled_ sound and shook his head. “T-this’s all my fault,” He muttered, burying his face in his hands.

Tony and Steve both frowned deeply. “How on _Earth_ is _any_ of this your fault?” Tony demanded and Bucky cringed, looking away. “You didn’t ask Loki to do this to us, Bucky. This was in no way your fault.”

Steve made a soft noise of assent and took a step closer to the man. “It’s probably more my fault than anything…and I don’t just mean the kiss.”

Bucky blinked, looking up at Steve curiously but before he could ask him what he meant, Tony beat him to it.

“Steve?”

The blond exhaled shakily and shook his head. “Loki came by for a visit and he probably wouldn’t have done anything if I hadn’t-“ He ran a nervous hand through his hair, making a right mess of the strands. “He asked me how I was getting along,” He started again. “Asked me how it was having Bucky back and- _Christ-_ I’m such an idiot. I told- _I told him_ that it was _wonderful_ to have you back, Buck. I told him how happy I was to be able to see you doing better, feeling good, smiling and laughing, just… _living_ and he-“

Steve frowned, looking down at his hands. “He just _knew_.”

Tony was eerily silent and there was an unreadable expression on his face, not that Bucky noticed, too busy staring at Steve in askance. “What did he know, Steve?” Bucky asked, voice quiet, gentle and timid in a way Tony had never heard himself sound before.

Steve lifted his gaze then and Bucky’s gaze softened, seeing the glistening of tears held there. “He knew that I was in love with you, Buck.”

“ _Tony-_ “ Bucky found himself saying, more a knee-jerk reaction than anything. “You mean, Tony.”

Steve’s smile was wistful. “Bucky…” Steve said slowly. “I mean _Bucky_ ,” He repeated.

Bucky’s brows furrowed, confusion evident in his gaze and then he was looking to Tony…for… _help?_ Tony huffed out a soft breath and took a step closer to the man and when Bucky didn’t spook or move away at all, the genius stepped up to him and gently laid both of his hands, metal and flesh alike, atop his very own shoulders.

“What Steve is trying to say…is that he is in love with you, Bucky,” Tony clarified and Bucky blinked…and then began shaking his head and couldn’t seem to stop.

“He loves _you_ , Tony. Not _me,_ ” Bucky denied and Tony barely resisted the urge to hang his head in frustration.

“ _Bucky-_ “ Steve tried and Tony dropped his hands from the man’s shoulders as Steve came closer. “I _do_ love you, so, _so much_ ,” Steve confessed and in that moment, three things happened.

 _One:_ there was a heart-stopping moment where everything was still and eerily so, as if all the air had been vacuumed out of the room in an instant and Bucky didn’t think he’d ever drag in another breath again and then…

 _Two:_ there was Tony-in Bucky’s body-pitching forward in an uncoordinated mess, a look of confusion and pain flitting across his brow and then _Bucky_ felt himself lunging forward, only…his body didn’t move an inch, just _his being-_

 _Three:_ Steve was shouting, letting loose a terrified yell that rang in Bucky’s ears, probably Tony’s too and then they were falling.

.

Bucky came to with strong shaking hands in his hair, a heaving chest beneath his cheek and when he finally managed to open his eyes wide enough to see what was going on, he found himself looking into Tony’s tired yet smiling face.

 _Tony’s_ -

“ _Oh-_ “ Bucky said in surprise and the hand in his hair paused its gentle petting.

“ _Hey_ ,” Tony whispered, smiling a little bigger.

“W-what happened?” He asked, voice a little choked and he quickly pushed himself up, realizing that he was propped up against Steve’s goddamn _chest._

“It looks like the spell was reversed,” Steve said gently as Bucky propped himself up onto his metal arm to better survey them.

They were sitting on the floor for one thing, Steve sitting with his legs splayed out and Tony tucked in under one arm. “It just… _reversed?_ ” Bucky asked, looking between Steve and Tony.

Tony was smiling, but his eyes looked a little sad, a lot tired. “I think it had something to do with me working up the nerve to tell you that I love you, Buck,” Steve whispered.

Bucky stilled, suddenly nervous gaze flicking to Tony who…was _still_ smiling. “But-“

Tony huffed softly and rolled his eyes…a reaction Bucky had not expected. “ _Steve_ , could you be a little more clear here? I think he’d about to have an aneurysm.”

Steve huffed and shifted where he sat, sitting up a bit more as he pressed a chaste kiss to Tony’s temple before reaching out to take Bucky’s flesh and blood hand in his. Bucky let him, because why wouldn’t he?

“ _Bucky,_ ” Steve said, way too patiently. “I am in love with you _and_ I am in love with Tony.”

Steve exhaled shakily and tried to give Bucky a reassuring smile, but it faltered when Bucky shook his head and said, “No you aren’t. You love Tony.”

“Oh… _my God_ ,” Steve said, beyond exasperated.

“Alright, _my turn,_ ” Tony announced, shifting to face Bucky better. “Bucky, you don’t seem to be getting this, so I’m going to paint a little picture here, alright?”

He didn’t bother to wait for Bucky to nod or even barely acknowledge that he was going to let him before carrying on. “Steve has loved you for forever, _literally_. I think he’s loved you from the moment he first met you actually and even when he thought you were gone, he _still_ loved you.”

Bucky exhaled shakily, gaze flickering to Steve for an instant and swallowing thickly before looking back to Tony when he continued. “And then he met me and let’s face it, it’s me so _of course_ he fell in love with me too-“

“ _Tony-_ “ Steve sighed, but he was smiling shyly anyway.

“And _then-_ “ Tony went on, smothering Steve’s complaint beneath the palm of his hand and making the blond kiss it in retaliation. “You came back and he _still_ loved you, never stopped and he _and I_ decided that we wanted to love you together. Well, it wasn’t exactly a decision I had much control over, and what I mean by that is, I never expected to fall in love with you. _Sure,_ I knew I would like you just because Steve loved you so damn much. But then _I_ went and fell in love with you too and Steve and I knew that we would tell you eventually and _we were_ -“

“But then Loki happened,” Steve explained, voice soft, _afraid._

Bucky exhaled roughly, gaze snapping between the two men incredulously. “You can’t be serious…”

“ _As a heart attack_ -“ They _both_ said, in damned _unison._

Bucky barked out a laugh at that and shook his head incredulously. “You can-can’t be in love with me. _Both_ of you can’t-“

“Well, _tough,_ ” Tony announced, folding his arms across his chest. “I love you and Steve loves you and we both want to be with you…” He trailed off a little uncertainly, arms dropping back to his sides. “If you’ll let us.”

Steve was nodding when Bucky looked to him and Bucky was at a complete loss and he wished he had handled all of this better but-

“I love you, Steve…I-“ He exhaled roughly and shook his head. “Never stopped, even when I didn’t know who I was, I knew you, I knew I felt for you, knew I loved you.”

Steve swallowed thickly and Bucky tried to ignore the sight of tears springing to the man’s eyes when he felt tears begin to gather in his own. “And, _Tony-_ “ Bucky breathed, sharp grey-blue eyes landing on him.

Tony tensed slightly and Bucky’s gaze softened. “You were so kind to me when you found me…when I came here I-I wasn’t myself and you-“ He swallowed past the lump in his throat. “You forgave me and I fell for you- _hard-_ “ He added. “And I felt like the biggest scummiest, _sleezebag_ for crushing on my best friend’s fella.”

Steve huffed softly and Tony muttered, “Of course you did,” Under his breath and Bucky shook his head, fond and exasperated and a thousand and one other things.

“I knew I couldn’t have Steve anymore, he wasn’t mine, we-we were different- _are_ different and I would never expect him to still want to be with me after everything,” Bucky confessed and Steve _and_ Tony made soft noises of disagreement.

“You were wrong,” Steve murmured, shifting a little closer to him. “You were so wrong, Buck. The second I knew you were alive, I knew I wanted to bring you home, knew I wanted to be with you again. I felt guilty for wanting to be with you when I was in love with Tony, but he-“

“I wasn’t stupid,” Tony cut in. “I knew what you two were to each other long before we knew you were alive and when we found out, I told him that I would do everything in my power to bring you home. I knew Steve loved you, would keep loving you. But he loved me too and I believed him with every fibre of my being when he told me he wasn’t going to leave me.”

Bucky exhaled shakily, unable to look away from the genius. “And I told him that I would step aside if it meant the two of you could be together-“

“And I said, _fuck no,_ ” Steve huffed and Tony rolled his eyes, Bucky very nearly doing the same.

“So we talked about it, like adults and everything and when I confessed to starting to develop feelings for you, _well…_ ” Tony shrugged lightly and Steve smiled, turning to look at Bucky.

“We wanted to tell you, together…and if-if you didn’t return out feelings, that would be _okay_ ,” Steve assured him. “We just wanted to be able to love you, let us love you in any way we could.”

Bucky swallowed hard and looked at them with pleading eyes. “I-I want…that. I want that,” He whispered and Steve’s whole face positively _lit up_ with joy at the words. “I want to let you b-both love me and I…will you let me love you both, too?”

“ _Oh, Buck_ ,” Steve breathed and in the next moment his large warm, _careful_ hands were tangling in his dark locks and drawing his face closer to his own.

Steve kissed him and it was so perfect, so wonderfully sweet and tender and Bucky crumbled, letting the tears fall as Steve practically pulled him into his lap, Bucky’s mismatched hands flying out to rest against the blond’s chest so that he didn’t topple over.

When the kiss broke, he found Tony _right there_ smiling at them both with such a deep look of longing on his handsome face and Bucky found himself reaching out for the man, Tony coming even closer and then they were _kissing_ and Bucky was whimpering against those perfectly plush lips and practically _melting_ against Steve’s chest as Tony pressed in against him just the same.

When their kiss finally broke, one of Steve’s hands gently carding through his longer locks Bucky pulled back to better see them both and what he saw reflected in their gazes was enough to bring the words he so desperately felt unbidden to his lips.

“I love you both so fuckin’ much.”

The huge smiles Steve and Tony broke into Bucky was sure would forever warm his heart. He let himself be swept up in their strong arms and soon enough they were lying in a tangled comfortable heap on the floor. _Well,_ Steve was entirely on the floor and Bucky was mostly on top of Steve and Tony was pretty well entirely on top of them, so…

It was beautiful, perfect and everything Bucky could ever want, ever even hope to dream and it was _his._

Maybe happiness isn’t so overrated after all.


End file.
